W  '^^ 


THE  SULTAN  OF  TURKEY 


Turkey y  Frontispiece 


TURKEY 

BY 

EDSON  L  CLARK 

WITH  A  SUPPLEMENTARY  CHAPTER  OF  RECENT  EVENTS 

By  WILFRED  C.  LAY,  Ph.D. 


ILL USTRA  TED 


-r^s«j'^:-: 


NEW  YORK 

P.   F.   COLLIER   &   SON 

MCMII 


Cr 


COPYRIGHT  BY 

DODD    MEAD  AND  COMPANY 

1878 


^'^^{^n  Jc^^^^^auu   ^^^-u^/^ 


CONTENTS. 


PART   FIRST 
THE    BYZANTINE    EMPIRE. 

CHAPTER  I.  »A<»« 

JvaTr-iiAN. 
The  Fall  of  the  Reman  Empire  of  the  East II 

CHAPTER  II. 
Heraclius. 
Causes  of  the  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire  of  the  East  — 
The  Restoration  of  the  Empire  —  The  Transition  from  Roman  to 
Byzantine  History If 

CHAPTER  III. 
Leo  the  Isaurian. 
The  Empire  a  Great  Commercial   State  —  Its   Social  Condition  and 

General  Characteristics 28 

CHAPTER    IV. 
Mental  Asphyxia. 
Complete  Moral  Enslavement  of  the  Empire  —  Intellectual  Stupor 
of  the  Church  —  The  Paulicians. 40 


MgGOB'?"^ 


yd  CONTENTS, 

PART  THIRD. 

THE  TURKISH   SLAVONIANS,   THE  WALLACHIANS, 
AND    THE    GYPSIES. 

CHAPTER  I.                                        PAOB 
The  Slavic  Race 309 

CHAPTER  II. 

The  Bulgarians. 

The  Earlier  and  Later  Bulgarian  Kingdoms 321 

CHAPTER  III. 
The  Servians. 
Rise  of  the  Servian  Empire  —  Stephen  Dushan  —  The  Battle  of  Kos- 
sovo — The  Turkish  Conquest 333 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Montenegro 353 

CHAPTER  V. 
The  Servian  Revolution 379 

CHAPTER  VL 
Free  Servia 397 

CHAPTER  VII. 
Stara-Servia  —  Herzegovina  and  Bosnia  —  The  Morlaks  and 
The  Uscocs 421 

CHAPTER  VIIL 
The  Modern  Bulgarians 442 

CHAPTER  IX. 
The  Wallachians. 
The  Daco-Roumanian  People  —  Wallachia—  Moldavia —  Roumania — 

The  Roumanian  Jews 463 

CHAPTER  X. 
The  Gypsies 499 

CHAPTER  XL 
The  Congress  or  Berun o 507 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


TURKEY 


Frontispiece — Sultan  of  Turkey 
The  Bosphorus 
Constantinople 
Passage  of  the  Ingour 


HISTORY  OF  TURKEY 


INTRODUCTION. 


Nearly  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  Bishop  Berke- 
ley penned  that  famous  line,  a  line  which  has  passed  into 
a  proverb,  and  become  familiar  as  household  words  to  all 
peoples  whose  mother  tongue  is  the  English  language — 

"Westward  the  course  of  empire  takes  its  way." 

Never,  surely,  did  poet  express  a  great  historic  truth 
more  tersely,  or  more  happily.  For  twenty- five  centu- 
ries, steadily,  unvaryingly,  the  seat  of  imperial  dominion 
in  the  civilized  world  has  been  moving  towards  the  West. 
From  Persia  to  Macedon,  from  Macedon  to  Rome,  from 
Rome  to  the  Empire  of  Charlemagne,  from  mediaeval  Ger-- 
many  to  France  and  England,  from  France  and  England 
across  the  Atlantic  to  these  distant  shores  of  the  New 
World,  the  imperial  seat  of  civilization  and  political  power 
has  constantly  advanced  in  the  direction  of  the  setting 
sun. 

But  now  at  last,  having  reached  the  waters  of  the  Pa- 
cific, and  thus  completed  the  circuit  of  that  part  of  the 
earth's  surface  occupied  by  the  royal  Aryan  race,  the 
Star  of  Empire  has  turned  in  its  course.  At  the  present 
time,  aside  from  the  fortunes  of  our  own  country,  tlu 
progress  of  civilization  and  political  power  is  not  toward 
the  West,  but  toward  the  East;  and  this  eastward  move- 


1  INTRODUCTION. 

ment  of  the  course  of  empire  is  plainly  destined  to  con- 
tinue  for  generations  and  centuries  to  come. 

Within  the  past  few  years,  we  have  seen  Germany  rise 
to  the  ascendant  in  the  poHtical  horizon  of  Europe.  The 
history  of  the  German  people  has  been  strange  and  sad. 
A  people  whose  blood  flows  in  our  own  veins;  one  of  the 
grandest,  noblest  races  that  lives  on  the  earth;  simple, 
true-hearted,  and  earnest;  ever  toiling  on  with  an  industry 
which  nothing  can  weary  or  discourage ;  standing  at  the 
post  of  duty  or  of  danger  with  a  courage  as  quiet  and 
immovable  as  the  rocks  beneath  their  feet ;  with  a  power 
end  scope  of  thought  which  long  ago  gave  them  the  intel- 
lectual leadership  of  the  world ;  and,  to  crown  all,  a  pre- 
eminently reverent  and  God-fearing  people,  the  Germans 
have  lain,  through  weary  centuries,  paralyzed  by  their 
endless  and  hopeless  divisions,  awaiting  their  time,  filling 
no  place,  taking  no  part  in  the  great  movements  of  the 
political  world  at  all  commensurate  with  their  powers  or 
their  worth.  First  Italy,  then  Spain,  then  France,  then 
England,  then  England  and  France  together,  rose  to  po- 
sitions of  controlling  influence  in  Europe;  but  still  Ger- 
many lay  shorn  of  her  strengtlf,  divided  and  despised. 
But  at  last  her  time  also  has  come.  Her  ancient  wounds 
have  been  healed.  She  has  risen  in  her  full  strength,  and, 
with  a  step  of  imperial  majesty,  has  taken  that  foremost 
place  which  is  her  right.  To  every  man  of  Teutonic  blood 
this  grand  unification  of  Germany  may  well  be  the  occa- 
sion of  profoundest  satisfaction,  of  devoutest  thankful- 
ness. For  the  predominance,  the  controlling  influence, 
of  this  simple,  earnest,  laborious,  and  thoughtful  people 
forebodes  to  the  world  nothing  of  evil,  but  only  good. 


INTRODUCTION.  3 

Passing  north-east,  from  Germany  into  the  vast  Em- 
pire of  Russia,  we  seem  to  have  stepped  backward  three 
hundred  years  in  the  order  of  human  advancement 
We  find  a  people  still  in  the  childhood  of  their  political 
and  social  development.  The  peasantry,  forming  the 
great  majority  of  the  nation,  have  but  just  been  emanci- 
pated from  a  serfdom  which  bound  them  to  the  land  they 
tilled.  They  are  rude,  ignorant,  uncleanly,  and  super- 
stitious. The  communal  system  is  an  effectual  bar  to  in- 
dividual enterprise  and  progress,  and  during  the  sixteen 
years  which  have  passed  since  emancipation,  theii  moral 
and  social  condition  has  not  greatly  improved.^  Yet  in 
the  political  and  social  condition  of  the  Russian  people  as 
a  whole,  there  has  been,  during  the  past  thirty  years,  a 
breadth  and  rapidity  of  progress  to  which  few  parallels 
can  be  found.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  during  this 
period  the  Russian  people  has  awoke   to  political  self- 

^  The  great  want  of  the  Russian  peasant  is  a  fair  chance  to  reap  the  fruits 
of  his  own  industry.  From  this  the  communal  system  in  great  measure  de- 
bars him.  The  commune,  or  village,  owns  the  land,  assigns  to  every  family 
the  fields  it  is  to  occupy  for  the  year,  fixes  every  man's  social  position,  has  a 
hold  upon  him  from  which  he  cannot  release  himself,  assigns  his  taxes  arbir 
trarily,  will  not  permit  him  to  leave  without  a  pass,  and  can  call  him  back 
imperatively,  even  from  St.  Petersburg,  and  from  the  midst  of  the  most 
im[~'^'-tant  business,  at  a  moment's  warning.  The  Russian  peasant  has  thus 
no  x/eedom  of  action,  no  fair  field  for  the  exercise  of  his  industry  and  his 
powers.  He  is  in  complete  bondage  to  the  commune.  This  ancient  princi- 
ple of  social  organization,  so  peculiar  to  the  eastern  and  southern  Slavonian 
peoples,  must  be  abandoned,  or  greatly  modified,  in  Russia — the  peasant 
must  be  made  the  master  of  his  own  hands,  his  own  fortunes,  the  products 
of  his  own  industry — before  there  can  be  rapid  and  substantial  progress 
among  the  commor.  people.  It  is  clear  from  Mr.  Wallace's  admirable  work 
that  this  second  and  final  emancipation  has  already  begun,  and  that  the  tinM 
is  not  distant  when  it  will  be  fully  accomplished.   . 

See  Wallace's  **  Russia,"  chapters  viii.  and  ix. 


4  INTRODUCTION. 

consciousness.  Heretofore  the  world  has  been  concerned 
only  with  the  selfish,  autocratic  Russian  government; 
hereafter  it  will  have  to  do  with  the  Russian  nation. 
Towards  the  fifty  millions  of  the  Slavonians  of  Russi  the 
Star  of  Empire  is  steadily  taking  its  course.  Far  behind 
the  nations  of  the  West  as  they  are  in  social  and  political 
development,  there  is  that  in  them  which  must  place  them, 
in  their  time,  among  the  foremost  of  earthly  powers. 
And  their  coming  time  is  not  so  far  in  the  future  as  we 
have  been  wont  to  think.  The  distance  which  separates 
them  from  their  more  favored  brethren  they  are  already 
passing  with  mighty  strides.  In  the  Russian  people  we 
see  the  childhood  of  a  grand  and  mighty  manhood.  Few 
races  have  ever  existed  more  munificently  endowed  by 
nature  than  the  Slavonians  of  Russia.  A  people  so  stead- 
fast and  patient ;  so  simple,  docile,  and  obedient ;  so  grave 
and  serious ;  so  deeply,  intensely  religious ;  so  full  of  poetry 
and  song,  with  intellectual  aptitudes  and  capacities  so  va- 
rious and  so  great;  so  stubbornly,  immovably  faithful, 
loyal,  and  true,  is  a  people  which  deserves  to  rise,  and 
which  must  rise,  in  the  long  course  of  events,  to  no  sec- 
ond place  among  the  arbiters  of  the  world. 

Nowhere  else,  perhaps,  is  this  eastward  march  of  civili- 
zation and  political  power  more  conspicuously  apparent 
than  among  the  peoples  whose  rising  fortunes  are  the 
subject  of  the  present  volume.  No  one,  at  all  familiar 
with  the  present  state  of  things  in  the  East,  can  have 
failed  to  be  impressed  with  the  fact  that  for  the  past  fifty 
years  the  Greeks  and  the  Slavonian  peoples,  of  European 
Turkey  have  been  rapidly  rising  to  a  position  of  great 
social  and  political  importance  in  those  fair  and  fruitful 


INTRODUCTION,  5 

regions  so  long  blighted  and  held  in  check  by  the  bar- 
barian tyranny  of  the  Turks.-  In  the  summer  of  1876  no 
nation  in  Europe  held  a  position  of  greater  political 
importance  than  the  little  Principality  of  Servia.  What 
action  the  Prince  and  people  of  that  small  state  were 
about  to  take  in  the  desperate  struggle  of  the  Christians 
of  Herzegovina  and  Bosnia  with  their  Moslem  tyrants, 
was  a  question  discussed  with  absorbing  interest  in  every 
cabinet,  in  every  newspaper,  in  every  city  and  town  of 
the  civilized  world.  In  the  terrible  struggle  which  fol- 
lowed, through  lack  of  experience,  of  organization  and 
discipline,  of  good  leadership,  and  of  effective  arms,  the 
Servians  failed  as  deplorably  as  the  armies  of  our  own 
Union  failed  in  the  first  battle  of  Bull  Run.  But  that 
great  disaster  to  them,  like  our  first  crushing  defeat, 
was  only  a  blessmg  m  disguise.  It  was  a  fiery  trial,  pro- 
ducing in  the  end,  not  weakness  and  disgrace,  but  true 
courage,  union,  and  strength.  The  Servians  are  now 
under  a  cloud ;  but  the  time  is  coming  when  they  will 
emerge  from  obscurity  and  stand  before  the  world  in  a 
very  different  light,  as  their  fathers  did  sixty  years 
ago. 

Widely  unlike  as  the  Greeks  and  the  Servians  are,  in 
language,  in  race,  and  in  their  early  history,  four  centuries 
of  Turkish  oppression  have  placed  them  side  by  side  in  a 
similar  social  and  poHtical  condition,  and  very  nearly  upon 
the  same  level.  The  Greeks  were  already  an  ancient 
people,  had  ages  before  played  the  grandest  part  ever 
taken  by  any  people  in  the  history  of  mankind,  had  fallen 
from  their  high  estate,  had  sunk  to  the  lowest  stages  of 
servitude  and  degeneracy,  when,  in  the  thirteenth  and 


6  INTRODUCTION, 

fourteenth  centuries,  the  Servians  were  just  emerging 
from  barbarism,  just  entering  on  what  seemed  the  promise 
of  a  great  national  career. 

To  the  Servians  *  the  result  of  the  Turkish  conquest 
was  chiefly  to  arrest  their  progress,  to  hold  them,  so  to 
speak,  in  a  state  of  suspended  political  animation,  a  fixed 
and  stationary  condition,  for  three  hundred  years.  With 
the  Greeks  the  case  was  very  far  otherwise.  In  their 
condition,  that  great  catastrophe  wrought  a  most  impor- 
tant, a  most  beneficent  change.  It  brought  them  a  grand 
enfranchisement.  It  effected  their  political  regeneration, 
made  them  a  new  people.  In  that  fiery  ordeal,  the  old 
political,  ecclesiastical,  and  social  system  of  the  Greek 
Empire,  with  all  its  monstrous  tyrannies  and  abuses,  was 
wholly  and  forever  burned  away.  By  the  Turkish  con- 
quest the  Greeks  were  reduced  to  a  condition  of  perfect 
equality ;  and  from  that  day  no  people  in  the  world  has 
been  filled  with  a  spirit  more  intensely  democratic.  They 
were  left  very  poor,  and  ignorant,  and  weak ;  they  were 
reduced  to  the  lowest  round  in  the  social  ladder,  and  had 
to  begin  over  again  the  whole  order  of  their  social  and 
political  development ;  but  they  began  it  in  newness  of 
life.  They  had  passed  through  a  new  political  birth,  they 
were  a  new  people.  From  that  day,  although  for  many 
centuries  their  progress  was  tedious,  and  painful,  and  very 
slow ;  al  ;hough  even  yet  they  have  not  passed  beyond 
the  weakness  of  childhood,  their  course  has  been  just  as 
surely  and  steadily  upwards  as  that  of  the  sun  in  the 
heavens.     Of  this  truth  every  thoughtful  reader  of  the 

*  The  Montenegrins  and  the  Slavonians,  both  Moslem  and  Christian,  of 
Herzegovina  and  Bosnia,  are  all  Servians  by  race. 


INTRODUCTION,  7 

following  pages    \vill  find  evidence  sufficient   and  con- 
clusive. 

The  Servians  have  been  essentially  free  for  sixty-five 
years.  In  national  character  they  are  very  unlike  the 
Greeks,  although  members  of  the  Greek  Church.  They 
are  grave,  serious,  and  conservative ;  more  brave  and  war- 
like than  the  Greeks,  more  steadfast  and  persistent  in 
their  purposes.  They  have  been  more  successful  than 
the  Greeks  in  the  establishment  and  administration  of 
their  free  institutions.  The  Principality  of  Servia  has 
been  more  powerful  and  more  influential  than  the  King- 
dom of  Greece.  What  may  be  in  store  for  these  little 
States  in  the  stormy  and  troubled  future  which  seems  to 
be  before  them,  no  one  can  foresee.  But  whatever  may 
be  their  lot,  these  peoples  are  destined,  beyond  all  doubt 
or  question,  to  rise  slowly  but  surely  in  political  power 
and  in  social  and  material  prosperity,  until  they  hold 
some  great  and  leading  position  in  the  magnificent  regions 
of  south-eastern  Europe. 

The  peoples  whose  history  and  fortunes  are  traced  in 
the  following  pages,  deserve  to  be  better  known  than  they 
have  yet  been  by  American  Christians.  They  are  worthy 
of  our  warmest  sympathies,  of  our  efficient  and  constant 
aid.  The  preparation  of  this  volume  has  been  a  labor  of 
love.  If  it  shall  result  in  disseminating  aniong  his  coun- 
trymen a  better  knowledge  of  these  most  interesting 
peoples,  and  in  deepening  and  strengthening  their  inter- 
est in  them,  the  author's  end  will  have  been  fully  attained 

Southampton,  Mass., 
June,  1878, 


PART    FIRST, 


THE  BYZANTINE  EMPIRE. 

^e  Authorities  chiefly  followed  are : 

Gibbon's  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire. 

Finlay's  Greece   under  the  Romans,  and  History  of  the 
Byzantine  and  Greek  Empires. 

Neander's  History  of  the  Christian  Religion  and  Church* 

Milman's  History  of  Latin  Christianity. 


CHAPTER    I. 


JUSTINIAN.  , 

THE  FALL  OF  THE  ROMAN   EMPIRE  OF  THE  EAST. 

When  in  the  year  ^22  Mohammed  established  both 
his  rehgion  and  his  power  by  his  flight  from  Mecca  to 
Medina,  it  might  well  have  seemed  to  him  that  the  Em- 
pire of  Rome  had  very  nearly  reached  the  end  of  its 
great  career.  Internal  confusion  and  disorganization  had 
left  the  Empire  the  helpless  prey  of  foreign  enemies.  The 
Avars,  a  powerful  Tartar  tribe  which  had  invaded  Europe 
and  established  itself  to  the  north  of  the  Danube,  had 
overrun  the  European  provinces ;  while  on  the  east,  the 
Persian  monarchy,  under  Chosroes,  the  greatest  of  its  later 
kings,  had  suddenly  blazed  up  in  a  brief  expiring  flash 
of  glory  rivaling  that  of  its  early  conquests  under  Cyrus. 
Invading  the  Roman  dominions  in  603,  in  the  course  of 
twenty  years  of  uninterrupted  victory,  Chosroes  subdued 
Syria  and  Palestine,  traversed  Egypt  from  the  Mediterra- 
nean to  the  borders  of  Ethiopia,  crossed  the  Lybian 
deserts  and  subdued  the  rich  and  beautiful  province  of 
Cyrene,  nov/  Barca,  vanquished  the  Roman  armies  in 
Asia  Minor  itself,  and  advanced  to  the  shores  of  the  Bos- 
phorus,  where  in  626  he  joined  his  forces  with  the  Avars 


12  THE  BYZANTINE  EMPIRE. 

for  the  siege  of  Constantinople,  in  the  vain  hope  of  end- 
ing forever  the  Empire  of  Rome. 

This  descent  of  the  Empire,  from  the  highest  pitch  of 
power  and  splendor  to  the  very  verge  of  ruin,  had  been 
strangely  rapid. ^  The  glory  of  the  Roman  Empire  of 
the  East  culminated  and  expired  in  the  long  reign  of 
Justinian,  who  ascended  the  throne  of  Constantinople  in 
the  year  527,  and  died  in  565.  The  reign  of  Justinian 
opened  with  brilliant  promise.  His  Empire  embraced 
something  less  than  half  of  the  vast  dimensions  of  the 
early  Caesars.  Western  Europe  was  lost ;  the  Vandals 
reigned  over  north-western  Africa ;  and  the  Persians  had 
pushed  their  frontier  westward,  until  the  Romans  re- 
tained but  the  western  half  of  Armenia  and  the  north- 
western third  of  Mesopotamia.  But,  narrowed  as  it  was, 
the  Empire  inherited  by  Justinian  still  embraced  sixty- 
four  provinces  and  nine  hundred  and  thirty-five  cities, 
and  made  its  master  by  far  the  richest  and  most  powerful 
sovereign  in  the  world.  The  European  provinces  of  the 
Empire  were  bounded  by  the  Danube,  the  Save,  and  the 
Adriatic,  though  Moesia  and  Illyricum  had  already  been 
sadly  wasted  by  barbarian  inroads.  In  Asia,  the  Roman 
arms  still  held  the  grand  peninsula  of  Asia  Minor,  west- 
ern Armenia,  the  five  north-western  provinces  of  Meso- 
potamia, Syria,  Palestine,  and  Arabia  Petraea.  In  Africa, 
the  great  and  fruitful  provinces  of  Egypt  and  Cyrene  still 
furnished  their  abundant  revenues  of  both  money  and 
corn  to  the  government  of  Constantinople. 

Justinian  found  the  Empire  in  a  condition  of  unusual 

^  Gibbon,  vol,  iv.  pp.  46,  466;  Finlay's  Greece  under  the  Romans, 
chapters  iii   and  iv. 


JUSTINIAI^.  13 

quiet  and  strength.  The  provinces  were  peaceful  and 
obedient,  the  treasury  was  full,  the  army  was  efficient  and 
well  appointed,  while  both  the  civil  and  military  service 
presented  an  array  of  able  men  unsurpassed  either  before 
or  afterwards  in  the  Eastern  Empire. 

The  reign  thus  auspiciously  inaugurated  was  not  un- 
marked by  great  events,  worthy  of  such  a  beginning. 
In  the  year  533,  Belisarius,  a  general  worthy  of  the  best 
days  of  Rome,  sailed  from  Constantinople  for  the  con- 
quest of  the  Vandal  kingdom  in  the  north  of  Africa; 
and  with  such  consummate  generalship  and  such  perfect 
discipline  was  the  expedition  conducted,  that  a  single 
brief  campaign  sufficed  to  annihilate  the  once  terrible 
power  of  the  Vandals,  while  scarcely  a  village  was  plun- 
dered, and  the  capture  of  the  great  city  of  Carthage  did 
not  interrupt  for  a  single  day  the  traffic  of  its  busy  streets. 
The  great  province  thus  so  easily  recovered  remained  for 
a  hundred  years,  until  it  was  conquered  by  the  Saracens, 
one  of  the  most  prosperous  and  most  valuable  possessions 
of  the  Empire. 

The  splendid  success  of  his  African  expedition  inspired 
Justinian  with  the  hope  of  breaking  the  power  of  the 
Ostrogoths  in  Italy.  Belisarius  entered  upon  this  second 
and  more  difficult  undertaking  in  535.  Sicily  and  Naples 
were  speedily  subdued,  and  in  536  Belisarius  entered 
Rome.  The  Goths,  however,  were  a  people  who  were 
not  to  be  easily  subdued.  The  war  thus  begun  continued 
with  various  vicissitudes  for  twenty  years.  It  was  ended 
by  Narses,  who  although  a  eunuch — and  perhaps  the 
only  eunuch  who  ever  displayed  the  energy  and  ability 
of  a  great  military  leader — was  fully  the  equal  of  Bali- 


14  THE  BYZANTINE  EMPIRE. 

sarlua.  In  554,  Narses  destroyed  the  last  remains  of  the 
Ostrogothic  kingdom,  restored  the  whole  of  Italy  to  the 
Empire,  and  became  the  first  Exarch  of  Ravenna,  under 
which  title  he  governed  his  conquests  for  more  than 
fifteen  years.  While  these  events  were  transpiring  in 
Italy,  a  considerable  district  was  also  wrested  from  the 
hands  of  the  Visigoths  in  the  south  of  Spain — an  acqui- 
sition of  greater  value  to  the  Empire  commercially  than 
it  was  poUtically. 

While  Justinian  derived  no  littie  glory  from  these  great 
military  achievements,  his  reign  was  made  yet  more  illus- 
trious by  the  peaceful  labors  of  his  civil  officers,  which 
have  proved  a  permanent  blessing  to  mankind.  Under 
the  personal  direction  and  supervision  of  the  Emperor, 
Tribonian  and  his  fellow-jurists  produced  that  great  digest 
of  Roman  law  known  as  the  Code,  the  Pandects,  and  the 
Institutes  of  Justinian,  which  has  ever  since  remained  one 
of  the  highest  legal  authorities  of  the  Christian  world. 

From  these  great  achievements,  the  merit  of  which 
was  in  no  small  degree  his  own,  Justinian  derived  a  just 
renown.  Nor  can  it  be  denied  that  he  displayed  many 
of  the  qualities  of  a  great  sovereign  and  a  good  man. 
He  was  morally  virtuous,  abstemious  in  his  mode  of  life, 
sincere  in  his  religious  convictions,  and  zealous  in  the 
discharge  t^f  his  religious  duties.  The  master  of  consid- 
erable and  varied  learning,  he  was  one  of  the  most  dili- 
gent and  studious  men  of  his  times.  After  a  srngle 
hour's  sleep  he  often  rose  from  his  bed  and  passed  the 
rest  of  the  night  in  study,  while  his  indefatigable  industry 
made  him  familiar  with  the  minutest  details  of  the  vast  • 
machinery  of  the  imperial   government.      Yet  with  all 


JUSTINIAN.  IS 

this,  the  government  of  Justinian  was  one  of  the  worst 
ever  administered  by  an  active  and  virtuous  sovereign. 
He  was  a  weak,  narrow-minded  pedant.  His  religion 
was  a  puerile  superstition,  his  zeal  a  fanatical  bigotry, 
his  industry  a  meddlesome  and  mischievous  interference 
with  the  details  of  the  several  departments  of  govern- 
ment. His  ample  revenues  were  wasted  with  such  lavish 
profusion  in  his  distant  and  costly  wars,  his  ruinous  pas- 
sion for  building  in  every  part  of  his  dominions,  and  in 
ignominious  tribute  to  his  barbarian  neighbors,  that  his 
treasury  could  be  supplied  only  by  the  most  oppressive 
extortion.  Hence  the  single  merit  of  large  and  regular 
remittances  to  the  treasury  was  suffered  to  cover  the 
greatest  tyranny  and  official  corruption  in  the  provincial 
governors,  until  the  whole  Empire  groaned  under  an  in- 
tolerable burden  of  oppression. 

Through  almost  the  whole  of  his  reign,  the  peace  of 
the  capital  was  destroyed  by  a  bloody  and  terrible  feud 
between  the  rival  factions  of  the  circus.^  The  contending 
parties  of  charioteers  in  the  hippodrome  were  distin- 
guished by  the  blue  and  green  colors  of  their  respective 
dresses.  With  one  or  the  other  of  these  parties  almost 
the  whole  population  of  Constantinople  took  sides,  so  that 
the  whole  city  came  to  be  divided  between  the  blue  and 
green  factions  of  the  circus.  The  incessant  conflict  of 
these  rival  factions  was  carried  into  every  question  of 
social  and  political  life,  and  very  often  stained  the  streets 
of  the  city  with  blood.  The  blue  faction  proclaimed 
themselves,  and  were  regarded  by  Justinian,  the  especial 
champions  of  his  person  and  government ;  and  for  this 

*  Gibb«m,  iv.  73,  287;  Finlay's  Greece  under  the  Romans,  pp.  235-274. 


l6  THE  BYZANTINE  EMPIRE, 

reason  were  tolerated  in  a  career  of  violence  and  crime 
hardly  to  be  paralleled  in  the  history  of  civilized  nations. 
"  No  place  was  safe  or  sacred  from  their  depredations ; 
to  gratify  either  avarice  or  revenge  they  profusely  spilt 
the  blood  of  the  innocent ;  churches  and  altars  were  pol- 
luted by  atrocious  murders  ;  and  it  was  the  boast  of  the 
assassins  that  their  dexterity  could  always  inflict  a  mor- 
tal wound  with  a  single  stroke  of  their  dagger.  The  dis- 
solute youth  of  Constantinople  adopted  the  blue  livery 
of  disorder  ;  the  laws  were  silent,  and  the  bonds  of  society 
were  relaxed.  Creditors  were  compelled  to  resign  their 
obligations,  judges  to  reverse  their  sentences,  masters  to 
enfranchise  their  slaves,  fathers  to  supply  the  extrava- 
gance of  their  children ;  noble  matrons  were  prostituted 
to  the  lust  of  their  servants ;  beautiful  boys  were  torn 
from  the  arms  of  their  parents ;  and  wives,  unless  they 
preferred  a  voluntary  death,  were  ravished  in  the  pres- 
ence of  their  husbands. 

**  The  despair  of  the  greens,  who  were  persecuted  by 
their  enemies  and  deserted  by  the  magistrates,  assumed 
the  privilege  of  defence,  perhaps  of  retaliation ;  but  those 
who  survived  the  combat  were  dragged  to  execution, 
and  the  unhappy  fugitives,  escaping  to  woods  and  caverns, 
preyed  without  mercy  on  the  society  from  whence  they 
were  expelled."  ^ 

It  was  the  great  defect  of  the  imperial  government  that 
it  v/as  a  vast  corporation  by  itself,  wholly  distinct  from 
the  people  of  the  Empire.  Justinian's  whole  policy 
tended  to  increase  and  perpetuate  this  evil.  He  feared 
his  own  subjects  more  than  his  barbarian  enemies.  He 
*  Gibbon,  iv.  59. 


JUSTINIAN,  17 

would  not  intrust  them  with  arms  for  their  own  defence ; 
even  the  imperial  armies  were  recruited  from  barbarian 
tribes.  The  ancient  municipal  institutions  of  the  Empire 
— the  domestic  governments  of  the  cities  and  towns — 
which  had  been  the  foundation  of  its  strength  and  pros- 
perity, were  deprived  of  their  resources.  Their  revenues, 
which  had  provided  for  a  local  police,  for  the  repair  of 
roads,  bridges,  and  fortifications,  and  for  the  ordinary 
municipal  expenses,  were  transferred  to  the  imperial 
treasury.  The  impoverished  cities  were  thus  left  to 
fall  to  decay,  or  become  the  helpless  prey  of  barbarian 
invaders."^ 

This  misgovernment  and  oppression  produced  its  natu- 
ral results.  The  people  of  the  provinces,  especially  those 
more  remote  from  the  capital,  were  inspired  with  a  bitter 
hatred  of  the  imperial  government,  which  prepared  them 
to  welcome  any  foreign  invader  as  a  dehverer  from  the 
oppression  under  which  they  groaned.  To  make  the 
condition  of  the  unhappy  people  still  worse,  the  govern- 
ment of  Justinian  was  as  feeble  as  it  was  tyrannical. 
During  the  latter  years  of  his  reign,  his  Empire  lay  the 
easy  prey  of  every  invader.  A  disgraceful  tribute  pre- 
served a  semblance  of  peace  with  the  Persians  and  the 
Avars,  but  the  Bulgarians,  Slavonians,  and  Huns  ravaged 
the  provinces  of  the  West  almost  unresisted,  until  the  peo- 
ple whom  they  had  slaughtered  or  enslaved  were  counted 
by  millions,  and  wide  regions,  before  populous  and  pros- 
perous, had  been  changed  to  deserts. 

It  seemed  as  if  nature  itself  had  conspired  with  a  weak 
and  tyrannical  .government  for  the  ruin  of  the  Empire 

*  Finlay's  Greece  under  the  Romans,  chap,  iii.,  sects,  i  and  3. 


l8  THE  BYZANTINE  EMPIRE, 

Terrible  earthquakes  destroyed  some  of  the  most  populous 
cities  of  the  East,  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  per- 
sons perishing  in  Antioch  alone ;  and  a  dreadful  pesti- 
lence, which  sprang  up  in  Egypt  in  the  fifteenth  year  of 
Justinian's  reign,  destroyed  half  the  population  of  Con- 
stantinople, left  whole  cities  desolate  in  both  the  East  and 
the  West,  and  continued  for  half  a  century  to  ravage  the 
whole  civihzed  world.  Justinian  died  in  the  year  565, 
after  a  life  of  eighty-three  years,  and  a  reign  of  thirty- 
eight,  leaving  the  Empire,  which  he  had  inherited  in  the 
fullness  of  power  and  prosperity,  trembling  upon  the  verge 
of  ruin. 

His  three  successors,^  two  of  whom  were  men  of  char- 
acter and  ability,  struggled  hard  and  with  some  success 
to  uphold  the  falling  Empire.  But  in  the  year  602,  by  a 
mutiny  of  the  demoralized  army  headed  by  Phocas,  an 
ignorant  and  worthless  centurion,  the  government  was 
overturned.  Phocas  was  raised  to  the  throne,  murdered 
in  cold  blood  his  deposed  sovereign  and  all  his  family, 
and  soon  proved  himself  one  of  the  most  incompetent  and 
brutal  tyrants  that  ever  disgraced  the  imperial  throne. 
Chosroes,  the  Persian  king,  had  obtained  his  throne  by 
the  aid  of  the  &lain  Emperor  Maurice.  Upon  the  acces- 
sion of  Phocas,  he  declared  a  relentless  war  upon  the 
murderer  of  his  benefactor,  and  entered  at  once  upon  his 
great  and  long  continued  career  of  conquest.  Phocas 
reigned  eight  years,  from  602  to  610,  and  in  that  short 
period  the  ruin  of  the  Empire  was  complete. 

1  Justin  II.,  565-578;  Tiberius  II.,  578-582;  Maurice,  582-602.    Tibe- 
rius and  Maurice  were  able  men. 


CHAPTER    11. 


HERACLIUS. 

CAUSES  OF  THE  DECLINE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  ROMAN 
EMPIRE  OF  THE  EAST — THE  RESTORATION  OF 
THE  EMPIRE — THE  TRANSITION  FROM  ROMAN  TO 
BYZANTINE  HISTORY. 

In  this  emergency,  all  eyes  were  turned  to  Heraclius, 
the  aged  Exarch  of  the  now  prosperous  and  powerful 
province  of  Africa,  as  the  only  hope  of  deliverance  from 
the  unendurable  tyranny  of  Phocas.  Too  old  to  take  the 
burden  upon  his  own  shoulders,  Heraclius  devolved  the 
task  of  redeeming  the  Empire  upon  his  son  of  the  same 
name,  who  soon  sailed  for  Constantinople  at  the  head  of 
a  powerful  fleet.  The  tyrant  fell  ignominiously,  almost 
without  a  blow,  and  in  6io  the  young  Heraclius  was 
raised  to  the  throne.^ 

Of  the  great  qualities  which  he  was  afterwards  to  dis- 
play, and  the  dazzling  splendor  of  his  subsequent  military 
exploits,  the  first  years  of  the  youthful  Emperor  gave 
little  promise.  With  the  imperial  purple  he  had  grasped 
but  the  shadow  of  imperial  power.  The  Empire  was 
prostrate ;  its  affairs,  both  military  and  civil,  in  hopeless 

'  Gibbon,  iv.  457. 


20  THE  BYZANTINE  EMPIRE, 

confusion  ;  its  territories  upon  the  east  and  the  west  ex- 
posed without  defence  to  the  arms  of  victorious  enemies. 
The  fall  of  Antioch  was  the  first  news  which  greeted  the 
ears  of  the  young  Emperor,  and  the  Persians  and  Avars 
continued  to  advance  until  the  capital,  with  some  for- 
tresses in  its  neighborhood,  Macedonia,  Greece,  the  south 
of  Italy,  Sicily,  and  north-western  Africa,  were  nearly  all 
that  remained  to  Heraclius  of  the  once  vast  dominions  of 
Rome. 

This  utter  prostration  of  the  Roman  power  in  the  first 
years  of  Heraclius  must  be  regarded  as  the  transition 
point  between  the  Roman  and  Byzantine  Empires.  The 
shattered  and  prostrate  Empire  was  to  rise  from  its  ruins, 
and  to  stand  for  centuries  the  richest,  most  civilized,  and 
most  powerful  state  of  the  world ;  but  it  was  to  rise  a 
Greek  and  not  a  Latin  power.  Italy,  Africa,  Syria,  and 
Egypt  were  to  be  finally  severed  from  the  Empire ;  Latin 
was  to  give  place  to  Greek  as  the  language  of  the  govern- 
ment and  the  law ;  and  the  common  faith  of  the  Greek 
Church  was  to  become  the  vital  and  enduring  bond  of 
union  to  a  reasonably  homogeneous  and  harmonious 
people. 

If  we  regard  the  conquests  of  Chosroes  as  the  final 
destruction  of  the  Roman  Empire,  we  may  properly 
pause  at  this  point  to  notice  the  causes  of  the  decline  and 
fall  of  that  vast  dominion. 

I.  The  first  cause  of  the  decay  and  disintegration  of 
the  Empire  is  seen  in  the  incongruous  and  irreconcilable 
elements  of  which  it  was  composed.  So  far  as  the  Latin 
language  prevailed,  the  various  conquered  nations  became 
insensibly  blended  into  one  great  people.     By  the  over- 


HERACLIUSi  21 

mastering  influence  of  the  power,  civilization,  and  institu- 
tions of  Rome,  the  inhabitants  of  Italy,  Gaul,  Spain, 
Southern  Germany,  Moesia,  Thrace,  and  north-western 
Africa  were  gradually  fused  into  a  single  people,  with  a 
common  language,  common  ideas  and  institutions,  and  a 
common  religious  belief  But  in  the  eastern  half  of  the 
Empire  the  case  was  far  otherwise.  Among  the  Greeks, 
the  tribes  of  Asia  Minor,  the  Armenians,  the  Syrians,  and 
the  Egyptians,  the  Latin  language  gained  little  ground, 
and  never  became  anything  more  than  the  official  language 
of  the  government.  All  these  peoples  retained  not  only 
their  own  languages  and  nationality,  but,  excepting  the 
non- Hellenic  tribes  of  Asia  Minor,  which  were  heartily  de- 
voted to  the  Greek  Church,  certain  striking  peculiarities 
of  religious  belief  A  strong  antagonism  and  tendency 
to  separation  thus  grew  up,  not  only  between  the 
West  and  the  East,  between  the  Latin -speaking  and  the 
Greek- speaking  portions  of  the  Empire,  but  in  the  East 
itself,  between  the  Greeks,  the  Syrians,  and  the  Egyp- 
tians. To  the  Syrians  and  Egyptians,  the  government 
of  Constantinople  was  the  hated  rule  of  strangers  and 
heretics.  They  submitted  with  no  great  reluctance,  many 
of  them  gladly,  to  the  successors  of  Mohammed — a  fact 
which  explains  the  ease  and  rapidity  of  the  first  Saracen 
conquests. 

II.  The  second  and  most  efficient  cause  of  the  decay 
and  fall  of  the  Roman  Empire  lay  in  two  great  and  radi- 
cal vices  of  the  imperial  government ;  its  entire  separa- 
tion from  the  people  and  all  the  interests  of  society,  and 
its  fiscal  oppression.  The  imperial  government,  after  the 
time  of  Constantine,  was  a  close  corporation,  forming  a 


t2  THE  BYZANTINE  EMPIRE. 

vast  e.  <tablishment  complete  in  itself,  holding  the  Empire 
in  abscilute  subjection,  allowing  to  the  people  no  rights  of 
self-gov^ernment  or  even  of  self-defence,  and  governing 
them  solely  for  its  own  advantage.  Its  great  end  from 
first  to  last  was  to  bring  the  largest  possible  amount  of 
money  into  the  imperial  treasury.  As  distinct  from  this 
end,  the  public  good  was  something  little  regarded,  rarely 
thought  of.  As  might  be  expected  of  such  a  govern- 
ment, its  fiscal  extortions  were  universal,  constant,  and 
terrible.  The  population  of  the  Empire  was  regarded  in 
hardly  any  other  light  than  as  a  great  instrument  for  the 
production  of  revenue.  The  measure  of  the  exactions 
laid  upon  the  provinces  was  simply  the  largest  amount 
that  could  be  wrung  from  them.  The  taxes  upon  agri« 
culture,  already  ruinous  before  the  time  of  Constantine, 
were  retained  and  increased  by  the  Christian  Emperors. 
Gradually  the  small  farmers  were  everywhere  ruined, 
everywhere  disappeared ;  but,  by  a  cruel  refinement  of 
fiscal  ingenuity,  every  community  was  taxed  as  a  whole, 
and  the  rich,  so  long  as  any  remained,  were  compelled  to 
make  good  the  deficiencies  of  the  bankrupt  poor.  As 
the  result  of  these  grinding  extortions,  the  farming  popu- 
lation of  the  country  districts  was  everywhere  ruined 
throughout  the  Empire.  The  great  class  of  small  land- 
holders disappeared,  and  the  whole  agricultural  territory 
of  the  Empire,  beyond  the  immediate  neighborhood  of 
the  cities,  became  divided  into  great  estates,  tilled  only 
by  serfs  and  slaves.  The  free  laborers,  reduced  to  utter 
poverty  and  helplessness,  and  worse  off  than  the  foreign- 
bought  slaves,  sunk  to  the  condition  of  serfs;  and  lesi 
the  land  sh:)uld  be  left  untilled  and  thus  yield  no  revenue. 


HERACLIUS,  23 

a  law  was  enacted  that  any  freeman  who  had  cultivated 
lands  for  the  space  of  thirty  years  should  remain  forever 
attached  with  his  descendants  to  the  same  estate.  The 
position  of  the  slaves,  as  the  chief  producers  of  the  agri- 
cultural wealth  of  the  Empire,  gave  them  great  importance 
in  the  view  of  the  government ;  and  while  the  free  laborers 
sunk  to  serfs,  the  slaves  gradually  rose  to  the  same  con- 
dition. Long  before  the  time  of  Justinian  this  vast  class 
of  serfs  and  slaves  had  so  increased  as  probably  to  exceed 
half  the  population  of  the  Empire.^  This  fact  is  of  itself 
sufficient  to  explain  the  fatal  weakness  of  the  state.  That 
sturdy  yeomanry,  which  must  form  the  bone  and  sinew 
of  every  really  vigorous  country,  had  been  annihilated  by 
the  fiscal  oppression  of  the  government  and  the  vast 
and  universal  system  of  slavery.  The  only  population 
remaining  capable  of  any  effort  in  self-defence  was  con- 
fined to  the  cities.  But  the  people  of  the  cities  were  so 
distrusted  and  feared  by  the  government  that  they  were 
not  permitted  to  arm  themselves  for  their  own  protection. 
They  were  compelled  to  depend  wholly  for  safety  upon 
their  fortifications  and  the  presence  of  regular  garrisons. 
But  this  was  not  all.  The  entire  separation  of  the  gov- 
ernment from  all  the  interests  of  the  people,  and  the 
oppression  to  which  they  were  constantly  subjected,  had 
rendered  all  patriotic  feeling  impossible,  and  had  filled 
the  provinces  not  only  with  indifTerence  as  to  the  fate  of 
the  imperial  government,  but  with  positive  hatred  towards 
it.     Thus,  totally  destitute  of  strength  in  the  affections 

*  Sir  James  Stephen's  Lectures  on  the  History  of  France,  Lect.  I.,  oa 
Ancient  Gaul;  Finlay's  Greece  under  the  Romans,  pp.  i8i,  231,  240;  Gib- 
bon, voL  i.  pp.  47-52,  and  notes.  / 


34  THE  BYZANTINE  EMPIRE, 

an^  support  of  its  people,  the  Empire  rested  alone  upon 
its  organized  military  force. 

III.  The  third  and  immediate  cause  of  the  fall  of 
the  Empire  was  the  demoralization  of  its  armies.  For 
the  first  three  centuries  of  its  existence,  the  Roman 
Empire  was  the  military  government  of  the  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  legions.  So  long  as  the  army  retained  its 
early  discipline,  and  the  Emperors  were  men  of  energy 
and  ability,  the  peace  and  order  of  society  were  tolerably 
well  preserved.  But  it  soon  appeared  how  fatally  insecure 
was  the  foundation  on  which  this  military  government 
reposed.  It  did  not  take  the  army  long  to  learn  that  it 
was  really  the  master  of  both  the  Empire  and  the 
Emperor.  Soon,  in  the  full  consciousness  of  its  power, 
it  began  with  a  reckless  and  fatal  levity  to  make  and  un- 
make its  sovereigns.  Through  the  whole  of  the  third, 
and  the  first  quarter  of  the  fourth  century,  this  tyranny 
of  the  army  destroyed  the  prosperity  of  the  Empire,  and 
filled  the  provinces  with  constant  and  ruinous  civil  wars. 
Thus  things  went  on  until  the  accession  of  Constantine,  in 
324.  That  great  man  effected  a  complete  revolution  in  the 
constitution  of  the  Empire,  and  transformed  it  from  a 
military  to  a  civil  government.  The  Emperor  became 
the  head,  not  of  the  army,  but  of  the  state,  a  lawful 
sovereign,  to  whom  army  and  people  alike  were  bound  to 
render  a  loyal  and  implicit  obedience.  During  the  long 
and  prosperous  reign  of  Constantine,  this  great  change 
was  quietly  and  successfully  accomplished.  The  army 
was  effectually  subordinated  to  the  civil  power,  and  came 
to  feel  a  loyal  devotion  to  the  Emperor  as  its  lawful 
sovereign.     By  this  revolution  the  Empire  was  in  great 


HERA  C LI  us.  25 

measure  relieved  for  two  hundred  years  from  the  terrible 
military  disorder  under  which  it  had  so  long  groaned. 
But  during  the  later  years  of  the  reign  of  Justinian,  his 
miserable  mismanagement,  and  the  pitiful  weakness  of  his 
government,  prepared  the  way  for  the  revival  of  the 
worst  evils  of  the  third  century.  The  discipline  of  the 
army  was  relaxed,  its  efficiency  was  greatly  impaired,  a 
mutinous,  insubordinate  spirit  spread  itself  through  the 
ranks,  and  the  train  was  laid  for  the  fearful  explosion  by 
which,  forty  years  later,  the  army  rose  against  its  sove- 
reign, hurled  him  from  the  throne,  elevated  a  worthless 
centurion  in  his  stead,  and  thus  destroyed  the  ancient 
Empire  of  Rome. 

The  first  twelve  years  of  the  reign  of  Heraclius,  from 
610  to  622,  were  a  period  of  such  complete  weakness  and 
helplessness  that  the  end  of  the  Empire  seemed  close  at 
hand.  He  had  neither  army  nor  revenue,  and  his  hum- 
ble supplications  for  peace,  upon  almost  any  terms,  were 
rejected  by  the  Persian  king  with  silent  contempt.  In 
his  personal  character  he  displayed  as  yet  none  of  the 
great  qualities  which  were  afterwards  to  astonish  the 
world.  He  seemed  a  feeble,  effeminate  youth;  thinking 
more  of  pleasure  than  of  his  arduous  duties,  with  none  of 
that  energy,  that  imperial  force  of  will  which  his  position 
so  urgently  required.  But  after  twelve  years  of  insult 
and  feebleness,  and  when  his  own  fortunes  and  those  of 
the  Empire  had  sunk  to  the  very  lowest  point,  he  sud- 
denly awoke,  as  a  lion  from  sleep.  Supplying  his  want 
of  money  by  borrowing  the  consecrated  wealth  of  the 
churches,  he  at  length  succeeded  in  getting  together  a 
considerable  force,  made  up  of  raw  levies  and  the  remains 

2 


86  THE  BYZANTINE  EMPIRE. 

of  the  broken,  demoralized  legions.  From  this  point  his 
movements  were  marked  by  the  energy  and  far-seeing 
sagacity  of  military  genius.  Putting  to  sea  with  his 
undisciplined  and  as  yet  worthless  army,  he  followed  the 
southern  coast  of  Asia  Minor  until  he  reached  the  Gulf 
of  Scanderoon,  the  north-eastern  extremity  of  the  Med- 
iterranean Sea.  There,  in  a  deep  and  secure  valley, 
inclosed  by  the  mountains  of  Cilicia  on  the  north,  and 
those  of  Lebanon  on  the  south,  he  formed  his  camp,  and 
gave  himself  with  the  utmost  patience  and  ardor  to  the 
training  and  discipline  of  his  army.  His  success  was 
complete,  and  he  soon  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  his 
army  fired  with  his  own  spirit,  and  eager  to  meet  their 
foes.  In  a  few  months  he  was  ready  for  action.  By  a 
series  of  skillful  maneuvers  the  Persian  forces  in  the 
neighborhood  were  brought  to  fight  a  great  battle  under 
unfavorable  circumstances,  and  were  totally  defeated. 
He  then  moved  northwards  with  his  victorious  army,  and 
fixed  his  winter  quarters  in  the  fruitful  valley  of  the 
Halys.  The  next  spring  he  advanced  along  the  south- 
ern coast  of  the  Black  Sea  to  Armenia,  the  inhabitants 
of  which  flocked  with  enthusiasm  to  his  standard.  Thence 
he  boldly  struck  southward  for  the  very  heart  of  the 
Persian  kingdom.  Disregarding  the  vast  and  victorious 
armies  of  his  enemies  in  his  rear ;  paying  no  heed  even 
to  the  siege  of  his  capital  by  the  combined  forces  of  the 
Persians  and  Avars,  he  crossed  the  Tigris,  penetrated  to 
regions  never  reached  before  by  the  Roman  arms,  de- 
feated the  Persian  armies  in  a  series  of  great  and  obsti- 
nately contested  battles,  took  Dastagerd,  the  Persian 
capital;^  and  did  not  leave  the  field  until,  by  four  of  the 


HERACLIUS,  VI 

most  brilliant  campaigns  ever  conducted  by  a  Roman 
general,  he  had  broken  the  power  of  Persia,  driven 
Chosroes  from  his  throne,  and  left  his  kingdom  a  shat- 
tered wreck,  to  fall  before  the  first  wave  of  Saracen 
invasion.^ 

After  these  stupendous  achievements  Heraclius  re- 
turned to  Constantinople  to  celebrate  his  triumph  and 
reorganize  his  Empire.  The  Avars  retired  again  beyond 
the  Danube,  and  the  Croats  and  Servians,  invited  from 
the  Carpathian  Mountains  to  repeople  the  desolate 
provinces  of  the  north-west,  became  a  firm  barrier  against 
their  further  encroachments. 

The  Empire  was  restored,  but  it  was  sadly  weakened 
and  shattered,  and  in  his  old  age  and  feeble  health 
Heraclius  found  himself  but  poorly  able  to  meet  the  tre- 
mendous onset  of  the  Saracens.  Before  his  death,  in 
642,  Persia,  Syria,  Palestine,  and  Egypt  had  been  again 
subdued,  and  made  part  of  the  vast  Empire  of  the 
Caliphs.  A  few  years  later  Africa  was  lost ;  and  in  the 
comparatively  small  fragment  yet  remaining  of  the 
boundless  conquests  of  imperial  Rome,  the  Byzantine 
Empire  received  its  enduring  form  and  dominion. 

^  For  the  military  oxeer  of  Heraclius,  see  Gibbon,  iv.  464-84. 


CHAPTER  III. 


LEO  THE  ISAURIAN. 

THE  EMPIRE  A  GREAT  COMMERCIAL  STATE — ^ITS  SOCIAI. 
CONDITION  AND  GENERAL  CHARACTERISTICS. 

Of  the  ten  Emperors  who  followed  Heraclius  from  641 
to  717,  there  is  no  occasion  to  speak  particularly.^  A 
single  great  event  stands  out  conspicuously  in  the  history 
of  this  otherwise  unimportant  period — the  first  siege  of 
Constantinople  by  the  Saracens.'^  In  the  year  672  the 
Caliph  Moawiyah  assembled  a  vast  military  and  naval 
force,  which  the  inefficiency  of  Constantine  Pogonatus 
permitted,  in  the  following  spring,  to  advance  unresisted 
to  the  very  walls  of  the  city.  The  Saracens  pressed  the 
siege  with  ineffectual  valor  until  the  approach  of  cold 
weather  compelled  them  to  retire  for  winter  quarters  to 

^  The  order  of  succession  was  as  follows :  Constantine  III.  and  Herac- 
leonas,  the  sons  of  Heraclius,  641  (Constantine  died,  and  Heracleonas  was 
deposed  the  same  year);  Constans  II.,  son  of  Constantine  III.,  641-668; 
Constantine  IV.  (Pogonatus),  son  of  Constans  II.,  668-685;  Justinian  II., 
son  of  Constantine  Pogonatus,  a  ferocious  tyrant,  and  the  last  of  the  Hera- 
clian  line,  685-711.  (From  695  to  705,  Justinian  II.  was  an  exile,  and  the 
throne  was  occupied  successively  by  two  usurpers,  Leontius  and  Tiberius.) 
Philippicus,  711-713;  Anastatius  II.,  713-716;  Theodosius  III.,  716-717. 

*  Gibbon,  v.  273. 


LEO  THE  ISAURIAN,  29 

the  Island  of  Cyzicus.  In  this  strange  way  they  contin- 
ued the  siege  for  seven  years.  But  the  strong  fortifica- 
tions of  the  city,  and  the  bravery  of  its  garrison,  defied 
their  unskillful  attacks ;  the  terrible  Greek  fire,  then 
just  invented,  consumed  their  ships  and  spread  conster- 
nation through  their  ranks,  and  the  enterprise  ended 
at  last  in  disastrous  failure.  The  land  forces  were  cut 
off  while  attempting  to  retreat  through  Asia  Minor, 
and  the  fleet  was  destroyed  by  a  tempest  off  the  coast  of 
Pamphylia. 

During  the  six  years  of  confusion — from  711  to  717 — 
which  followed  the  extinction  of  the  Heraclian  dynasty, 
the  Empire  seemed  again  upon  the  very  eve  of  destruc- 
tion. But  at  this  critical  juncture,  the  accession  of  an- 
other great  man  to  the  throne  again  restored  its  fortunes, 
marked  a  great  era  in  its  history,  and  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  its  prosperity  and  power  for  three  hundred  years. 
This  man  was  Leo  III.,  the  Isaurian  and  Iconoclast. 

The  accession  of  Leo  the  Isaurian,  in  717,  marks  the 
completion  of  the  great  revolution  which  transformed  the 
Roman  into  the  Byzantine  ^  Empire.  Leo  was  a  man  of 
humble  birth,  a  native  of  Isauria,  a  mountainous  region 
in  south-eastern  Asia  Minor.  His  father  appears  to  have 
removed  to  Thrace,  where  he  acquired  considerable 
wealth  as  a  grazier.  A  well-timed  gift  of  five  hundred 
sheep  to  the  tyrant  Justinian  II.  enabled  the  Isaurian 
shepherd  to  secure  an  honorable  position  for  his  son 
in  the  Emperor's  guards.  Thus  introduced  to  the  mih- 
tary  service,  Leo  rose  by  the  force  of  his  genius  to  be 
the  ablest  general  of  the  Empire.     His  masterly  meas- 

*  So  called  from  Byzantium,  the  original  name  of  Constsntinople. 


30  THE  BYZANTINE  EMPIRE. 

ures  for  the  defence  of  Asia  Minor  against  the  Saracens 
turned  all  eyes  upon  him  as  the  only  hope  of  the  Em- 
pire, and  he  was  hailed  Emperor  by  the  general  voice 
of  the  army  and  the  people.  The  virtuous  but  incom- 
petent Theodosius  III.  gracefully  retired,  and  Leo  as- 
cended the  throne.^ 

The  beginning  of  Leo's  reign  was  made  illustrious  by 
the  defeat  of  the  second  great  effort  of  the  Saracens  for 
the  capture  of  Constantinople — an  event  that  marks  the 
final  repulse  of  the  Saracen  power  in  its  conflict  with  the 
Empire.  Hardly  had  Leo  been  crowned  in  the  Church 
of  St.  Sophia,  on  the  25  th  of  March,  717,  when  Mosle- 
mah,  the  equally  able  brother  of  the  energetic  Caliph 
Sulieman,  advanced  to  the  siege  of  Constantinople  at  the 
head  of  the  best  appointed  and  most  powerful  expedi- 
tion ever  sent  by  the  Caliphs  against  the  Christians. 
Eighty  thousand  soldiers  constituted  the  land  army, 
while  the  whole  expedition  by  land  and  sea  is  said  to 
have  numbered  one  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  men. 
Leo  met  this  tremendous  attack  with  a  bold  and  confi- 
dent defiance.  The  vast  naval  armanent  was  allowed  to 
enter  the  very  harbor  of  Constantinople,  where  it  suf- 
fered a  series  of  overwhelming  defeats.  The  land  force 
was  able  to  make  no  impression  upon  the  defences  of 
the  city,  and,  by  the  timely  aid  of  the  Bulgarians,  was 
defeated  with  great  slaughter.  The  siege  was  feebly  pro- 
tracted into  the  second  year,  when  the  Saracen  host, 
broken  and  dispirited,  wasted  by  hardship,  famine,  and 
pestilence,  abandoned  the  enterprise  in  despair.  The 
land  force  succeeded  in  effecting  its  retreat  through  Asia 

*  Finlay's  Byzantine  Empire,  t  15-17,  28-32. 


LEO  THK  Ii>AURIAN,  3I 

Minor,  but  the  fleet  was  so  nearly  annihilated  that  no 
more  than  five  ships  returned  to  Syria. ^ 

His  power  firmly  established  by  this  great  success,  the 
new  Emperor  proceeded  to  reorganize  his  Empire,  and 
to  impress  upon  it  that  distinctive  and  permanent  char- 
acter which  it  retained  for  three  hundred  years.  To  the 
genius  of  Leo  III.  the  Byzantine  Empire  owed  its  per- 
manent organization  and  long  continued  prosperity.  At 
this  point  then  let  us  pause  to  notice  briefly  its  leading 
characteristics.^ 

During  the  century  and  a  half  which  preceded  the 
accession  of  Leo,  the  population  and  wealth  of  the  Em- 
pire had  greatly  declined.  The  country  districts,  once 
densely  peopled  with  a  thriving  yeomanry,  had  been 
desolated  by  barbarian  inroads  and  fiscal  oppression,  until 
many  of  them,  particularly  in  the  northern  European 
provinces,  were  almost  uninhabited ;  and  generally  they 
had  been  divided  into  great  estates,  cultivated  by  serfs 
and  slaves.  Universal  and  long  continued  confusion  had 
greatly  relaxed  the  iron  order  of  State  and  Church. 
Roads  and  bridges  had  decayed,  and  the  provinces  were 
no  longer  bound  together  by  means  of  easy  and  free  com- 
munication. In  the  cities,  left  far  more  than  formerly  to 
themselves,  there  had  been  a  partial  revival  of  municipal 
vigor,  but  with  the  decHne  of  wealth  and  free  communi- 
cation, there  had  been  a  corresponding  decline  of  intelli- 
gence and  social  activity.  All  ideas  and  habits  of  thought, 
and  all  business  enterprise,  had  become  narrow,  local, 
selfish.     The  great  strength  of  the  Empire,  its  strong 

'  Gibbon,  v.  278. 

•  See  Finlay's  Byzantine  Empire,  i.  i-ia 


59  THE  BYZANTINE  EMPIRE. 

bond  of  union,  now  lay  in  the  Church.  Since  the  loss  of 
Syria,  Egypt,  Italy,  and  Africa,  almost  the  whole  of  the 
remaining  population  was  zealously  devoted  to  the  faith 
of  the  orthodox  Greek  Church  ;  and  that  church  had 
become  far  more  popular  in  character.  The  bishops, 
everywhere  the  most  intelligent  and  most  influential  men 
in  their  several  provinces,  and  men  whose  interests  were 
completely  identified  with  those  of  their  people,  were 
everywhere  the  leaders  of  society.^  They  were  the  presi- 
dents of  the  curiae  or  city  senates,  judges,  and  provincial 
governors.  The  Emperors  had  long  been  striving  to 
make  their  authority  as  absolute  in  ecclesiastical  as  it  was 
in  civil  affairs,  and  for  two  hundred  years  had  presumed 
by  imperial  edicts  to  dictate  the  faith  of  the  Church  ;  but 
at  this  time  the  popular  and  measurably  independent 
position  of  the  bishops  gave  the  Church  great  strength,' 
and  the  bishops  personally  a  great,  and,  on  the  whole, 
beneficial  influence  over  the  people. 

The  regenerated  Empire  of  Leo  was  Greek  in  language 
and  in  faith,  but  not  in  spirit,  or  in  the  controlling  ele- 
ments of  its  population.  The  old  transplanted  Roman 
aristocracy  of  Constantinople  was  nearly  extinct,  and  a 
new  official  aristocracy  had  arisen,  of  which  the  control- 
ling element  was  from  Asia  Minor  and  Armenia.  The 
upper  classes  of  Constantinople  were  chiefly  Asiatic,  the 
middle  classes  largely  Greek,  the  lower,  a  mixed  mul- 
titude of  all  the  races  of  the  Empire.     But  all  classes 


*  Finlay's  Byzantine  Empire,  i.  25. 

*  The  bishops,  in  effect,  were  the  Church,  as  they  had  been  for  fou- 
hundred  years ;  the  people  were  but  so  many  sheep,  to  be  governed — and 
fleeced. 


LEO  THE  ISAURIAN,  33 

alike  still  proudly  styled  themselves  Romans,  and  spoke 
contemptuously  of  the  people  of  Greece  proper  as  Hella- 
dikoi.*  And  in  fact  the  civilization  of  the  Empire  was 
far  more  Roman  than  Greek.  Its  spirit  was  utilitarian, 
practical,  positive.  The  Greek  classics  were  still  the  basis 
of  education,  but  were  despised  as  the  production  of  ideal- 
ists and  dreamers.  There  was  still  much  sound  learning, 
and  many  learned  men.  The  upper  classes  were  well 
educated  for  practical  life,  and  the  civil  and  military 
service  abounded  in  able  and  competent  men.  The 
moral  tone  of  society  was  comparatively  good,  perhaps 
better  than  it  had  ever  before  been  in  a  population  equally 
extensive.* 

Leo  and  his  successors  for  a  hundred  and  twenty-five 
years,  the  golden  age  of  Byzantine  history,  are  known  as 
the  Iconoclast  or  image-breaking  Emperors.  The  preva- 
lence of  Asiatic  influences  at  the  capital  explains  this 
great  iconoclastic  movement^  The  ecclesiastics  and 
common  people  had  degraded  Christianity  into  a  worship 
of  saints,  images  and  relics.  But  there  was  still  a  strong 
party,  especially  among  the  better  instructed  Asiatic 
laymen,  who  protested  against  the  prevalent  image  wor- 
ship as  a  base  idolatry. 

This  feeling  found  expression  in  the  legislation  of  Leo, 
which,  at  first,  while  not  denying  the  usefulness  of  pictures 
or  decreeing  their  entire  destruction,  strictly  forbade  their 
worship.     A  later  decree  required  that  all  images  should 

'  The  Greeks  still  continued  to  call  themselves  Romaioi  until  the  revival 
of  their  national  spirit  within  the  past  century,  when  they  once  mor« 
resumed  their  proper  national  appellation,  and  styled  themselves  Hellenes, 

*  Finlay's  Byzantine  Empire,  i.  258. 

*  Id.,  i.  41. 

2 


}4  THE  BYZANTINE  EMPIRE, 

be  destroyed.  It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  upon  this  point 
Charlemagne  and  the  leading  men  of  the  Frankish  Church 
were  in  accord  with  their  iconoclastic  contemporaries  of 
Constantinople.  Charlemagne  himself  wrote  against  the 
worship  of  images,  and  it  was  emphatically  condemned  by 
the  Council  of  Frankfort  in  794.^  For  a  hundred  and 
twenty-five  years,  excepting  the  period  from  780  to  813, 
the  iconoclastic  policy  was  firmly  pursued  by  the  imperial 
government,  and  image  or  picture  worship  was  generally 
suppressed.  But  the  great  body  of  the  people  were  far 
too  ignorant  and  superstitious  to  be  reformed  in  this  par- 
ticular. Upon  the  death  of  the  Emperor  Theophilus, 
in  842,  the  reign  of  this  "Asiatic  Puritanism "  came  to  an 
end,  and  image  worship  was  finally  and  joyfully  restored. 
The  great  reform  effected  by  Leo  was  the  reorgani- 
zation and  purification  of  the  civil  government.  Ever 
since  the  days  of  Constantine,  the  imperial  government 
had  been  assuming  more  and  more  completely  the  form  of 
a  great  beaurocracy,  each  department  constituting  a  profes- 
sion by  itself,  the  details  of  which  could  be  mastered  only 
by  long  practice  and  patient  application,  and  promotion  in 
which  was  almost  sure  to  follow  the  display  of  diligence 
and  ability.  It  was  this  regular  and  scientific  form  of  the 
imperial  government,  the  like  of  which  the  world  had 
never  before  seen,  which  gave  it  its  great  and  enduring 
strength.  These  remarks  are  especially  true  of  the 
administration  of  justice.  The  uniform  procedure  of  the 
Roman  law  established  throughout  the  empire,  raised  up 
everywhere  a  body  of  learned  lawyers  and  judges,  who,  in 

*  Neander,  vol.  iii.  pp.  234-243.      See  also  Milman's  Latin  Christianity, 
book  AY.  chapters  vii.  and  viii.,  and  book  v.  chapter  i. 


LEO  THE  ISA  URIAN.  35 

turn,  by  the  strong  spirit  of  conservatism  natural  to  their 
profession,  gave  to  the  law  itself  a  degree  of  stability  and 
consistency  which  not  only  afforded  a  great  safeguard  to 
person  and  property,  but  formed  a  strong  check  upon  the 
absolute  power  of  the  Emperors.  The  government  of  the 
Empire  was  emphatically  a  government  of  law ;  and  the 
regular  and  tolerably  impartial  administration  of  justice 
did  more  than  almost  anything  else  to  reconcile  the  people 
to  their  lot  under  the  absolute  and  oppressive  govern- 
ment of  the  Emperors. 

To  those  accustomed  to  the  comparative  brevity  and 
purity  of  legal  proceedings  in  English  and  American 
courts,  this  praise  of  the  Byzantine  judicature  may  seem 
but  poorly  deserved.  The  laws,  an  inheritance  from  a 
former  age,  and  enacted  many  of  them  for  a  different 
condition  of  society,  were  often  antiquated,  confused,  and 
even  contradictory.  The  cumbrous  and  costly  mode  of 
procedure,  still  retained  in  the  chancery  and  civil  law 
courts  of  Europe  (in  distinction  from  the  common  law 
courts  of  England)  afforded  ample  opportunity  to  skillful 
and  unprincipled  lawyers  to  protract  their  suits  to  the 
great  loss  of  their  clients;  while  the  hearing  and  adjudi- 
cation of  all  causes  before  a  single  judge  without  a  jury, 
and  a  judge  holding  his  office  only  at  the  pleasure  of  an 
arbitrary  master,  opened  wide  the  door  to  corruption  and 
bribery.  The  administration  of  justice  in  the  Byzantine 
Empire  was  very  far  from  being  characterized  by  the 
purity  and  impartiality  which  have  been  attained  in  the 
courts  of  England  and  our  own  country ;  but  It  was  far 
in  advance  of  anything  enjoyed,  or  which  had  ever  been 
enjoyed,  in  any  other  country,  and  was  justly  regarded 


36  THE  BYZANTINE  EMPIRE. 

by  the  people  of  the  Empire  as  the  great  glory  of  their 
civilization.* 

The  long  period  of  confusion  which  preceded  the  reign 
of  Leo  had  left  the  legal  tribunals  of  the  Empire  in  a 
condition  of  sad  disorder  and  corruption.  His  first 
measure  of  reform  was  the  restoration  of  comparative 
vigor  and  purity  in  those  tribunals.  The  beneficent 
results  of  this  reform  were  felt  for  many  generations 
throughout  the  Empire.  His  second  measure  was  the 
thorough  reorganization  of  the  fiscal  administration.  He 
was  obliged  to  rather  increase  than  diminish  the  public 
burdens ;  but  those  burdens  were  judiciously  arranged  to 
press  as  lightly  as  possible  upon  the  industry  and  enter- 
prise of  the  country,  while  the  revenue  was  collected  and 
disbursed  with  order  and  economy.  The  result  of  these 
measures  was  a  perceptible  and  immediate  revival  of 
prosperity  throughout  the  Empire. 

A  third  and  very  striking  feature  of  the  government  of 
Leo  and  his  immediate  successors  was  their  commercial 
policy.  They  saw  clearly  that  henceforth  commerce  was 
to  be  the  corner-stone  of  the  strength  of  the  Empire  ;  and 
seeing  this,  they  so  framed  the  financial  system  of  their 
government  as  to  foster  and  promote  the  commercial  in- 
terests of  their  subjects.  Monopolies  and  restrictions  were 
abolished,  and  duties  and  imposts  were  made  fixed  and 
moderate.  Under  this  wise  policy,  the  Empire  became 
at  once  a  great  commercial  state.  During  the  eighth, 
ninth,  and  tenth  centuries,  until  the  rise  of  the  commer- 

^  See  Gibbon's  masterly  account  of  the  Roman  Jurisprudence,  in  chapter 
xliv.  of  his  History ;  also  Blackstone's  Commentaries,  vol.  i.  p.  80,  and 
book  iii.  chapter  xxvii. 


LEO  THE  ISAURIAN,  37 

cial  republics  of  Italy,  the  commerce  of  the  world  cen 
tared  at  Constantinople,  and  brought  with  it  enormous 
wealth.*  The  islands  and  maritime  cities  of  the  Empire 
again  grew  rich  and  prosperous ;  their  vast  mercantile 
marine  again  covered  the  Black  and  Mediterranean  Seas. 
An  immense  caravan  trade  passed  from  Cherson  (an 
ancient  Greek  colony  upon  the  site  of  the  modern  Sebas- 
topol)  along  the  north  shores  of  the  Black  and  Caspian 
Seas  to  the  frontiers  of  China ;  a  second  route  connected 
the  cities  of  Armenia  and  northern  India;  while  the 
Saracen  merchants  brought  to  the  eastern  shores  of  the 
Mediterranean,  not  only  the  products  of  their  own  coun- 
try, but  the  rich  traffic  of  the  islands  and  coasts  of  the 
Indian  Ocean.  The  commodities  which  thus  flowed  in 
abundant  streams  to  Constantinople  from  the  several 
quarters  of  the  eastern  world,  were  again  disseminated  in 
the  West,  partly  by  caravans  through  Bulgaria  and  by  the 
course  of  the  Danube  to  central  Europe,  and  partly  by  sea 
to  the  numberless  seaports  of  the  South.  The  nations  of 
the  West,  in  their  rudeness  and  poverty,  could  return  but 
little  money,  but  few  of  the  products  of  industry  or  skill 
to  the  Greek  merchants.  But  unfortunately  their  inces- 
sant wars  supplied,  in  numberless  captives,  a  commodity  in 
constant  demand  throughout  the  Mohammedan  as  well  as 
the  Christian  world ;  and  the  slave  trade  became  one  of 
the  most  important  branches  of  Byzantine  commerce. 
Of  this  vast  and  terrible  mediaeval  slave  trade,  the  Island 
of  Crete  or  Candia  was  the  principal  mart* 

*  Finlay's  Byzantine  Empire,  vol.  i.  p.  248. 

*  Finlay's  Byzantine  Empire,  i.  65,  note;  328,  515,  note.     See  also  Hal- 
lam's  Middle  Ages,  p.  473,  and  note.   Mr.  Hallam  mentions  some  very  sur- 


38  THE  BYZANTINE- EMPIRE. 

The  export  trade  of  the  Empire  was  largely  sustained 
by  its  manufactures,  and  its  production  of  wine  and  oil. 
The  manufacturing  skill  of  the  civilized  world  was  now 
largely  concentrated  in  the  Byzantine  cities.  The  cities 
of  Greece,  especially  Thebes,  Corinth,  and  Argos,  grew 
wealthy  and  populous  in  the  manufacture  of  silk,^  linen, 
and  woolen  fabrics  of  great  variety  and  excellence ;  while 
many  inland  cities  of  Asia  Minor  enjoyed  an  equal  pros- 
perity in  the  production  of  needles,  cutlery,  combs,  and  a 
multitude  of-  similar  articles,  with  which  they  supplied  the 
markets  of  the  West.  The  large  population  employed  in 
commerce  and  manufactures  produced  a  great  and  con- 
stant demand  for  the  fruits  of  the  soil.  This  demand 
gave  a  high  value  to  labor,  and  every  city  contained 
within  its  walls  a  large  agricultural  population  who  culti- 
vated like  a  garden  a  considerable  adjacent  territory. 

The  military  and  naval  forces  of  the  Empire  long  re- 
mained vigorous  and  efficient.  The  army  was  almost 
wholly  recruited  from  the  neighboring  barbarian  tribes ; 
but  the  tactics  .ind  discipline  of  the  early  Empire  were  in 

prising  as  well  as  t'^nful  facts,  showing  the  prevalence  of  a  trade  in  slaves 
even  in  England,  in  the  ninth,  tenth,  and  eleventh  centuries.  From  these 
statements  it  would  appear  that  there  were  people  in  England  in  those  times, 
who  sold  not  only  their  servants,  but  their  own  children  and  other  relatives 
to  foreign  dealers  for  slaves.  He  cites  the  following  passage  from  the  canons 
of  a  council  held  at  London  in  1 102 :  **  Let  no  one  from  henceforth  presume 
to  carry  on  that  wicked  traffic,  by  which  men  of  England  have  been  sold  like 
brute  animals."  To  this  citation  he  adds :  "  And  Giraldus  Cambrensis  says 
that  the  English  before  the  conquest  were  generally  in  the  habit  of  selling 
their  children  and  other  relations  to  be  slaves  in  Ireland,  without  having 
even  the  pretext  of  distress  or  famine." 

*  Silk  had  been  introduced  from  China  in  the  reign  of  Justinian  I.— -Gib- 
bon, iv.  66-71 


LEO  THE  ISAURIAN,  39 

great  measure  still  preserved.  Until  the  middle  of  the 
eleventh  century  the  Byzantine  armies  remained  the  best 
armed  and  disciplined,  and  the  most  formidable  military 
force  in  the  world.  When  well  commanded,  they  never 
failed  to  prove  themselves  more  than  a  match  for  any  force 
which  they  encountered. 

Thus,  by  the  genius  of  Heraclius  and  Leo  the  Isaurian, 
was  the  falling  Empire  restored  to  lasting  prosperity  and 
power.  For  many  generations  it  seemed  to  contempo- 
rary nations  a  grand  and  imposing  state,  unequaled  in 
wealth  and  magnificence,  and  enjoying  almost  the  perfec- 
tion of  civilization  and  social  order.  No  other  nation 
could  boast  of  an  administration  of  justice  so  regular 
and  impartial,  based  upon  a  code  of  laws  so  elaborate  and 
so  rational.  Its  able  lawyers,  financiers,  and  civil  officers 
of  every  class  were  trained  in  excellent  schools ;  commer- 
cial enterprise  and  manufacturing  skill  filled  its  numerous 
cities  with  a  busy  and  prosperous  population;  a  vast  and 
opulent  commerce  poured  a  constant  stream  of  wealth  into 
its  treasury;  its  ably  commanded  and  well  disciplined 
legions  sustained  in  many  a  desperate  conflict  the  ancient 
renown  of  the  Roman  arms.  Thus  for  three  hundred 
years  the  Christians  of  the  West,  in  their  darkness,  bar- 
barism, and  confusion,  looked  upon  the  Byzantine  Empire 
as  the  proud  embodiment  of  all  that  could  give  greatness 
and  splendor  to  a  nation. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


MENTAL  ASPHYXIA. 

COMPLETE  MORAL  ENSLAVEMENT  OF  THE  EMPIRE — 
INTELLECTUAL  STUPOR  OF  THE  CHURCH — ^THB 
PAULICIANS. 

The  Empire  had  risen  from  its  ruins,  and  in  all  its 
material  interests  was  flourishing  and  prosperous ;  but 
mentally  and  spiritually  there  was  no  revival ;  a  terrible 
paralysis  had  seized  upon  its  whole  intellectual  life. 
There  was  no  lack  of  learning,  or  of  learned  men.  The 
ancient  treasures  of  knowledge  were  still  preserved  and 
diligently  studied ;  but  learning  had  become  fruitless ; 
the  intellectual  soil  was  barren.  The  mental  eye  had 
become  fixed  steadily  and  only  upon  the  past.  The 
march  of  society  in  State  and  Church  had  become  a  dead 
routine,  in  which  the  only  effort  was  to  see  to  it  that 
nothing  diverged  in  the  least  degree  from  the  beaten 
track  of  earlier  days. 

The  Byzantine  Empire  presents  the  strange  and  un- 
paralleled spectacle  of  a  highly  civilized  people,  unfet- 
tered by  the  system  of  caste,  possessing  and  carefully 
preserving  the  literary  treasures  of  an  earlier  and  better 
day,  yet  existing  for  seven  hundred  years  without  discov- 
ering one  new  truth,  developing  one  important  or  fruit- 


MENTAL  ASPHYXIA,  4I 

ful  idea;  or  producing  one  book,  which  for  either  style  or 
substance  deserved  to  be  remembered  by  succeeding 
ages.  This  strange  and  miserable  decay  of  the  intellect- 
ual life  of  society  and  the  Church,  which  marked  the  last 
thousand  years  of  the  history  of  the  Empire,  is  something 
unique  in  human  history.  The  like  of  it  has  never  oc- 
curred elsewhere,  either  before  or  since.^  To  an  ob- 
server of  the  third  or  fourth  century,  it  might  well  have 
seemed  that  the  restless,  versatile  activity  of  the  Greek 
mind  could  only  cease  with  the  destruction  of  the  Greek 
race.  That  mind  had  been  the  light,  the  intellect  of  the 
ancient  world.  From  it,  excepting  only  the  religion  and 
sacred  writings  of  the  Jews,  had  sprung  all  that  the  world 
had  yet  seen  which  had  risen  above  the  low  level  of  a 
material  civilization.  The  poetry,  the  history,  the  philos- 
ophy, the  science;  all  the  freedom  of  thought,  all  the  bold- 
ness of  investigation  which  had  as  yet  enlarged  and  en- 
nobled the  human  mind,  had  sprung  directly  or  indirectly 
from  the  intellect  of  Greece.  Converted  to  Christianity, 
the  Greeks  began  at  once  to  reason  and  speculate  upon 
their  new  religion  in  all  its  doctrines,  aspects,  and  rela- 
tions, with  the  .same  vigor  and  subtlety  which  they  had 
displayed  in  the  fields  of  a  heathen  philosophy.  That 
elaborate  and  harmonious  system  of  doctrine,  which 
from  that  day  to  this  has  commanded  the  assent  of  the 
Christian  world,  was  in  great  measure  the  work  of  their 
skillful  hands.  When  the  spiritual  life  of  the  Church  had 
almost  passed  away,  this  intellectual  activity  still  re- 
mained.    Fierce  controversies  upon  disputed  points  of 

^  Chinese  civilization  approaches  nearest  to    a  resemblance ;    but  the 
Chinese  and  the  Greeks  can  hardly  be  compared. 


42  THE  BYZANTINE  EMPIRE, 

doctrine  still  raged,  and  divided  not  only  the  clergy  and 
theologians  of  the  day,  but  the  common  people.  In  the 
fourth  and  fifth  centuries,  these  religious  controversies 
were  the  great  subject  of  conversation,  and  of  loquacious, 
endless  discussion,  even  to  the  shopkeepers,  artisans,  and 
barbers  of  Constantinople.  "  Everywhere  in  that  new 
capital  of  the  world,  at  the  races  of  the  hippodrome,  at 
the  theatres,  at  feasts,  in  debauches,  the  most  sacred 
names  were  bandied  to  and  fro  in  eager  disputation. 
Every  corner,  every  alley  of  the  city,  the  streets,  the 
markets,  the  drapers'  shops,  the  tables  of  money-changers 
and  of  victualers,  were  crowded  with  these  off-hand  dog- 
matizers.  If  a  trader  was  asked  the  cost  of  such  an  arti- 
cle, he  answered  by  philosophizing  on  generated  and  un- 
generated  being.  If  a  stranger  inquired  the  price  of 
bread,  he  was  told,  "The  Son  is  subordinate  to  the 
Father."  If  a  traveler  asked  whether  his  bath  was  ready, 
he  was  told,  "The  Son  arose  out  of  nothing."  ^ 

But  as  the  process  of  decay  went  on,  even  this  intel- 
lectual activity,  which,  for  a  thousand  years,  had  seemed 
an  indestructible  attribute  of  the  Greek  mind,  at  last  died 
away.  By  the  year  850,  the  dead  sea  of  the  Greek 
Church  had  almost  ceased  to  be  agitated,  even  by  the 
acrid  blasts  of  fanatical  controversy.  Men  worshiped 
their  pictures,  their  relics,  and  their  guardian  saints,  and 
accepted  their  creed  as  it  was  fixed  for  them  by  the  iron 
hand  of  authority,  without  one  inquiring  thought,  or  one 
longing  aspiration  for  the  freedom  which  they  had  lost. 

This  steady  decay  and  final  extinction  of  the  intellect- 

1  "The  Council  of  Constantinople,"  Edinburgh  Review  for  July,  1867 
p.  51. 


MENTA^  ASPHYXIA,  43 

ual  vigor  and  activity  of  the  Greek  race,  while  still  pre- 
serving and  diligently  using  the  literary  treasures  which 
were  its  priceless  inheritance,  and  while  the  civilization 
of  the  ancient  world  still  existed  in  almost  undiminished 
splendor,  is  one  of  the  strangest  and  saddest  facts  of 
human  history.  Few  inquiries  could  be  more  instruc- 
tive or  profitable  than  that  which  should  point  out  clearly 
the  causes  of  this  gloomy  and  at  last  total  obscuration 
of  the  light  of  the  ancient  world. 

It  naturally  occurs  to  us  that  there  were  several 
causes  working  together  under  the  long  and  complete 
despotism  of  the  Roman  and  Byzantine  Emperors  to 
produce  this  disastrous  result ; — the  degeneracy  of  man- 
kind under  so  many  centuries  of  despotic  rule ;  the 
depression,  impoverishment,  and  disintegration  of  society 
by  fiscal  oppression ;  and  especially,  the  vast  and  uni- 
versal system  of  slavery. 

But  neither  any  one  of  these  causes  separately,  nor 
all  of  them  together,  are  enough  to  account  for  the  great 
fact  under  consideration.  For  in  the  first  place,  at  no 
time  in  the  history  of  the  Empire  did  there  exist  in  the 
great  body  of  its  people  a  degree  of  physical  or  mental 
imbecility  or  degeneracy,  which  a  single  generation  of  free 
and  rational  government  would  not  have  been  sufficient 
to  remedy.  After  the  concentrated  beaurocracy  estab- 
lished by  Constantine  the  Great  had  held  society  m  its 
iron  grasp  for  almost  a  thousand  years,  it  was  still  found 
that  if  the  people  of  the  cities  were  left  to  themselves, 
even  partially,  and  for  a  short  time,  their  military  vigor 
was  soon  restored,  and  with  it  political  sagacity  enough 
for   the   successful  management   of  their    own    affairSi 


44  THE  BYZANTINE  EMPIRE, 

When,  after  the  capture  of  Constantinople  by  the  Cru- 
saders, in  1204,  the  Greek  Emperors  were  compelled  to 
remove  their  seat  of  government  to  Nicaea,  in  Asia 
Minor,  and  to  fall  back  for  support  upon  the  devotion 
of  their  people,  the  archers  of  Bythinia  soon  became  the 
most  formidable  part  of  their  military  force,  proving 
themselves  in  no  way  inferior  to  their  ancestors  of 
ancient  times.  And  when,  about  the  year  1325,  the 
progress  of  the  Seljukian  Turks  cut  off  the  city  of  Phil- 
adelphia from  all  connection  with  the  Empire,  its  citi- 
zens, undismayed  by  the  ruin  which  surrounded  them, 
stood  manfully  and  successfully  in  their  own  defence; 
and,  relieved  from  the  tyranny  and  extortions  of  the  im- 
perial government,  through  two  generations  of  entire 
independence,  they  enjoyed  a  degree  of  prosperity  un- 
known to  them  for  ages  before.  Mr.  Finlay  affirms,  and 
apparently  with  good  reason,  that  at  the  very  time 
when  the  intellectual  life  of  the  Empire  was  finally  dying 
out,  its  population  was  characterized  by  a  higher  moral 
tone  and  a  better  social  order  than  had  ever  before  been 
seen  in  any  equally  numerous  portion  of  the  human 
race.^  Plainly,  the  race  had  not  degenerated.  There 
was  no  imbecility,  either  physical  or  mental,  to  account 
for  the  cessation  of  its  intellectual  activity. 

That  sad  result  did  not  spring  from  the  impoverish- 
ment and  disintegration  of  society  produced  by  the  fiscal 
extortions  of  the  government.  In  the  fourth  century 
the  cities  of  Greece  had  already  begun  to  revive,  and  in 
the  time  of  the  Iconoclast  Emperors,  the  sails  of  their 
vast  and  opulent  commerce  whitened  the  waters  of  the 
*  Byzantine  Empire,  voL  L  pp.  258-260. 


MENTAL  ASPHYXIA,  45 

neighboring  seas.  But,  contrary  to  what  has  appeared 
in  almost  every  other  similar  case  in  ancient  or  modern 
times,  this  great  commercial  activity  brought  no  enlarge- 
ment to  the  field  of  thought,  wrought  no  deliverance  to 
the  human  mind. 

It  cannot  be  referred  wholly  or  chiefly  to  the  blight- 
ing, deadening  influences  of  a  vast  and  universal  system 
of  slavery.  The  social  and  intellectual  activity  of  the 
ancient  world  was  confined  mostly  to  its  cities.  But  in 
the  commercial  cities  of  the  Byzantine  Empire  there 
was  far  less  of  slavery  than  there  had  been  in  ancient 
Greece,  or  under  the  first  Christian  Emperors  of  Constan- 
tinople. 

Nor  can  we  say  with  Lord  Macaulay,  that  this  intel- 
lectual decay  was  produced  by  the  fusing  down  of  the 
whole  civilized  world  into  one  uniform  and  stagnant 
mass,  under  "  the  vast  despotism  of  the  Caesars."  ^  It 
seems  a  rash  thing  to  call  in  question  a  teaching  of  that 
great  authority ;  yet  it  is  clear  that  such  an  hypothesis 
is  not  sustained  by  the  facts  in  the  case.  As  we  have 
already  seen,  the  power  and  institutions  of  Rome  did  not 
avail  to  reduce  the  whole  population  of  the  Empire  to 
one  common  and  homogeneous  mass.  The  peoples  of 
the  eastern  half  of  the  Empire  still  retained  their  lan- 
guages and  their  national  characteristics.  It  was  the 
strong  and  irreconcilable  antagonism  between  the  three 
great  national  tendencies  of  the  Empire,  which  we  may 
call  the  Italian,  the  Greek,  and  the  Egyptian,  which  pro- 
duced the  fierce  and  long  continued  controversies  of  the 

*  See  the  brilliftnt  article  on  **  History,"  in  Lord  Macaulay's  Miscellaneoui 
Essays. 


46  THE  BYZANTINE  EMPIRE, 

Christian  Church,  and  which  led  finally  to  the  dissolution 
of  the  Empire. 

No  more  is  the  long  and  unyielding  despotism  of  the 
civil  government  a  cause  sufficient  to  account  for  this 
decay.  Some  of  the  most  brilliant  literary  periods  of 
both  ancient  and  modem  times  have  occurred  under 
governments  as  despotic,  in  theory  and  in  fact,  as  that 
of  the  Roman  and  Byzantine  Emperors.  It  was  under 
the  same  imperial  government  that  the  Empire  was  made 
illustrious  by  the  two  golden  ages  of  Roman  literature, 
the  pagan  and  the  Christian.  No  reason  can  be  pointed 
out,  in  the  character  and  working  of  that  government, 
why  learning  and  literature  should  not  have  continued 
to  flourish  in  the  Empire,  as  they  did  in  Egypt,  under 
the  Ptolemies,  as  they  have  in  modern  times  in  France, 
in  Germany,  and  in  Russia.  Indeed,  no  despotic  govern- 
ment could  well  be  more  liberal  in  this  respect  than  was 
that  of  the  Roman  Empire,  until  it  formed  its  disastrous 
alliance  with  the  ecclesiastical  power  of  the  Christian 
Church.  The  pagan  Emperors,  satisfied  with  acquies- 
cence in  their  authority,  the  payment  of  their  fiscal 
exactions,  and  a  nominal  acknowledgment  of  the  re- 
ligion of  the  state,  left  their  subjects  free,  in  great 
measure,  to  think,  to  write,  and  to  teach  as  they  pleased. 
Even  the  persecutions  of  the  Christians  were  occasioned 
far  more  by  a  political  dread  of  a  religion  which  seemed 
hostile  to  the  Roman  institutions,  than  by  religious  intol- 
erance. The  last  century  and  a  half  of  the  pagan  Em- 
pire formed  a  period  of  universal  disaster  and  confusion. 
Attendant  upon  this  state  of  things,  there  was  neces- 
sarily a  considerable  decline  of  popular  intelligence  and 


MENTAL  ASPHYXIA-  47 

litcfdry  activity.  Yet  the  intellectual  decay  of  the  Em- 
pire during  this  period  was  in  seeming  rather  than  in 
reality.  The  moral  and  mental  vigor  of  society  had  not 
passed  away;  it  had  been  transferred  to  the  disciples  of 
a  new  religion.  In  due  time,  under  the  first  Christian 
Emperors,  it  displayed  itself  in  a  brilliant  period  of  the 
most  vigorous  and  widespread  intellectual  activity  that 
the  Empire  had  ever  seen.  If  the  Christian  Emperors 
could  have  imitated  the  tolerance  of  their  pagan  prede- 
cessors, and,  even  while  sustaining  Christianity  as  the 
religion  of  the  state,  could  have  allowed  the  old  freedom 
of  discussion  and  belief  within  the  pale  of  the  Church, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  same  results  would  have 
followed  then,  which  have  appeared  in  modern  times 
under  the  equally  arbitrary  governments  of  Germany. 
The  splendid  theological  literature  of  the  fourth  century 
would  have  branched  forth  into  a  rich  and  multiform 
intellectual  activity.  History,  poetry,  philosophy,  and 
natural  science  would  soon  have  begun  to  inspire  the 
earnest  devotion  of  clear  and  powerful  minds,  and  the 
stores  of  human  knowledge  would  have  been  greatly 
increased. 

But  this  could  not  be.  The  arbitrary  principle  em- 
bodied in  the  imperial  government  had  taken  full  posses- 
sion of  society.  Naturally  and  inevitably,  the  bishops 
began  to  copy  in  the  Church  the  despotism  of  the  civil 
government,  and  to  combine  themselves  into -a  vast  and 
powerful  hierarchy  analogous  to  that  of  '■he  State.  The 
same  despotic  authority  which  the  imperial  beaurocracy 
exercised  in  civil  society,  this  stupendous  hierarchy  as- 
serted over  the  Church.     It  claimed  to  rule  the  Church 


4S    .  THE  BYZANTINE  EMPIRE, 

by  the  same  divine  right  by  which  the  Emperor  gov- 
erned the  State.  It  assumed  the  right  to  fix  beyond  all 
appeal,  and  by  an  authority  from  which  no  man  might 
dare  to  dissent,  every  article  of  religious  belief,  even  to 
the  minutest  point.  By  its  alliance  with  the  government 
it  was  able  to  grasp  this  authority,  and  to  wield  it  with 
irresistible  power.  It  thus  bound  the  human  mind  in  an 
iron  bondage  from  which  there  was  no  escape.  In  this 
moral  despotism  of  the  hierarchy  of  the  Church  appears 
the  great  and  fatal  secret  of  the  decHne  and  final  destruc- 
tion of  the  intellectual  life  of  the  Empire.  That  deplor- 
able catastrophe  was  the  result  of  one  mighty  and  suffi- 
cient cause — the  substitution  of  authority  for  reason  in 
the  decision  of  every  moral  and  religious  question.  The 
government  had  already  closed  all  political  questions 
against  free  discussion.  The  Church  now  stepped  in,  and 
extended  the  fatal  interdict  to  every  question  of  morals 
and  religion.  Thus  cut  off  from  every  subject  of  vital  and 
practical  interest,  the  human  mind  found  nothing  in  the 
comparatively  cold  fields  of  philosophj)  and  natural  sci- 
ence to  rouse  and  call  forth  its  energies,  and  sunk  into 
lethargic  inactivity — a  sad  and  terrible  result  which  never 
has  failed,  and  never  can  fail,  to  follow  the  invasion  of  the 
high  prerogatives  of  the  human  reason  by  ecclesiastical 
authority,  in  exact  proportion  to  the  extent  and  energy  of 
the  invasion.  This  deplorable  enslavement  of  the  human 
mind  was  already  complete  before  the  time  of  Justinian, 
and  its  fatal  effects  became  ever  more  and  more  apparent 
until  the  final  extinction  of  the  Empire  by  the  Turks. 

To  this  long  and   dreary  reign  of  a  dead  orthodoxy 
there  came  one  memorable  interruption.     Upon  the  dis- 


THE  PAULICIANS. 


49 


tant  banks  of  the  Euphrates  there  arose,  abaut  the  year 
670,  a  new  sect,  called  Paulicians,  or  followers  of  St. 
Paul.*  The  strange  and  unhappy  history  of  this  sect, 
which,  with  all  its  errors,  remained  the  best  and  most 
Christian  part  of  the  Christian  Church  for  more  than  five 
hundred  years,  demands  a  passing  notice. 

In  the  village  of  Mananlis,  near  Samosata,  on  the 
Euphrates,  there  lived  a  man  in  humble  circumstances, 
but  of  a  sincere  and  earnest  mind,  named  Constantine. 
It  happened,  about  the  year  660,  that  this  man  entertained 
a  deacon  of  the  Greek  Church  returning  from  captivity. 
In  gratitude  for  his  kindness,  his  guest,  upon  departing, 
bestowed  upon  him  a  copy  of  the  New  Testament.  Con- 
stantine at  once  gave  himself  to  the  study  of  his  new- 
found treasure  with  the  greatest  earnestness.  Catching 
the  true  spirit  of  St.  Paul,  he  not  only  embraced,  but 
began  most  zealously  and  successfully  to  preach,  the  sim- 
ple doctrine  of  salvation  by  faith  in  Christ  alone.  Taking 
St.  Paul  for  his  example,  and  striving  not  only  to  teach 
his  doctrines,  but  to  imitate  his  evangelical  labors,  he 
baptized  the  churches  which  he  founded  with  the  name 
and  with  much  of  the  spirit  of  the  great  Apostle.  Rising 
above  the  superstitions  which  then  universally  debased  the 
Christian  world,  these  simple  churches  of  the  distant  East 
rejected  the  worship  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  of  images,  relics, 
and  saints,  and  displayed  a  nearer  approach  than  had  been 
seen  for  centuries  to  the  simple  piety  of  primitive  Chris- 
tianity. 

But  their  truth  was  strangely  mixed  with  error.     In 

'  For  the  rise  and  melancholy  history  of  the  Paulicians,  see  Neander, 
vol.  iii.  pp.  244,  and  Gibbon,  chap.  liv. 


50  THE  B  YZANTINE  EMPIRE. 

the  midst  of  the  moral  and  intellectual  darkness  which 
surrounded  them,  it  was  hardly  possible  that  they  should 
discern  the  truth  in  its  fullness  and  simplicity.  In  those 
Eastern  regions  the  old  Persian  dualism — the  doctrine  of 
two  eternal  and  hostile  powers,  the  one  good  and  the 
other  evil — had  been  preserved  through  the  Gnostic  and 
Manichaean  heresies,  and  still  kept  a  strong  hold  upon  the 
public  mind.  With  this  doctrine  the  faith  of  Constantine 
was  deeply  tinged  ;  and  the  constant  antithesis  presented 
in  the  New  Testament  between  light  and  darkness,  good 
and  evil,  God  and  the  world,  seemed  to  him  to  give  it 
strong  confirmation.  The  Paulicians  thus  came  to  believe 
not  only  in  the  existence  of  an  eternal  being,  evil  by  na- 
ture, and  forever  hostile  to  the  God  of  light  and  truth, 
but  that  this  evil  being  created  the  world,  and  was  the 
author  of  the  old  dispensation  and  the  Old  Testament 
Scriptures.  They  therefore  rejected  the  Old  Testament, 
and  with  it  the  Epistles  of  St  Peter,  and  everything  in 
the  New  Testament  which  savored  of  the  leaven  of  Juda- 
ism. They  denied  also  the  human  body  and  actual  suf- 
ferings of  the  Lord  Jesus,  adopting  the  Gnostic  view,  that 
He  presented  to  the  eyes  of  man  only  a  seeming  body 
and  seeming  sufferings. 

But  these  errors,  great  and  strange  as  they  were,  did 
not  prevent  them  from  apprehending,  by  faith,  the  love 
of  God  in  His  Son,  nor  from  fixing  in  the  one  Mediator 
between  God  and  man  a  simple  and  saving  trust.  Ac- 
cordingly, there  was  soon  manifest  in  the  churches  of 
these  poor,  unlearned  people  a  resurrection  of  the  true 
Christian  life  long  unknown  in  the  degenerate  Church. 
For  twenty  years  the  Paulician  churches  flourished  in 


THE  PAULICIANS,  51 

prosperity  and  peace ;  but  by  that  time  they  had  attracted 
the  attention  of  the  authorities  at  Constantinople,  and  the 
decree  went  forth  for  their  extirpation.  For  a  hundred 
and  fifty  years  from  this  time  they  endured  in  frequent 
persecutions  all  that  tyrannical  power  was  able  to  inflict, 
and  many  thousands  of  them  were  put  to  death.  This 
cruelty  of  the  government  finally  drove  them  to  open 
rebelHon.  They  found  ready  and  powerful  alHes  in  their 
Saracen  neighbors,  and  for  a  time  they  waged  war  against 
their  fellow- Christians  with  terrible  success.  But  the 
final  issue  was  against  them — their  country  was  wasted 
with  fire  and  sword,  and  vast  numbers  of  them  were 
transported  from  the  remote  east  to  the  extreme  west  of 
the  Greek  dominions,  that  their  well-tried  bravery  might 
become  a  defense  to  the  Empire  against  the  barbarians  of 
Europe.  Planted  in  western  Thrace  and  Macedonia,  in 
the  desolate  border-land  between  the  Greeks  and  Bulga- 
rians, and  there  left  to  itself,  the  new  colony  took  root  and 
grew  into  a  strong  and  prosperous  community.  It  occu- 
pied the  city  of  Philippopolis,  and  a  long  range  of  villages 
and  strongholds  stretching  south-west  from  that  city  as 
far  as  the  mountains  of  Epirus. 

The  mission  of  the  Paulicians  was  not  yet  fulfilled.  In 
their  new  seats  they  still  displayed  something  of  the  same 
simplicity  of  faith  and  of  earnest,  evangeHzing  zeal  which 
had  marked  their  earlier  history  in  the  distant  East. 
During  the  Middle  Ages,  when  the  people  of  Western 
Europe  were  buried  in  ignorance  and  superstition,  and 
groaning  under  an  intolerable  tyranny  in  both  Church 
and  State,  many  a  light  was  kindled  at  the  smouldering 
embers  of  the  Paulician  altars,  which  illuminated  the  uni- 


$2  THE  BYZANTINE  EMPIRE, 

versal  darkness  with  a  bright  and  cheering  ray.*  Tlie 
Paulicians  of  Thrace  and  Macedonia  engaged  in  active 
missionary  labors,  by  which  their  doctrines  were  dissemi- 
nated far  and  wide  in  both  Eastern  and  Western  Europe ; 
and  many  a  pilgrim,  pausing  among  them  upon  his  jour- 
ney to  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  imbibed  their  purer  doctrine 
and  nobler  spirit,  and  carried  them  with  him  to  his  distant 
home.  By  the  year  iioo  the  Paulician  doctrine  had 
taken  deep  root  among  the  Bulgarians  and  Servians,  in 
Italy  and  in  Sicily.'* 

But  it  was  among  the  Albigenses  of  the  south  of  France 
that  this  so-called  heresy  obtained  its  firmest  hold,  ac- 
complished its  greatest  work,  met  its  most  tragic  fate.  In 
the  twelfth  century  the  cities  of  Italy  and  the  south  of 
France  were  beginning  to  rejoice  in  the  rising  light  of  a 
new  civilization.  While  barbarism  still  maintained  an 
unbroken  reign  throughout  the  north  of  Europe,  the 
people  of  Provence  and  Languedoc  had  already  acquired 
a  large  measure  of  social  culture  and  material  prosperity. 
With  this  rising  civilization  among  the  Albigenses  there 
sprung  up  a  bold  and  free  spirit  which  disdained  a  spirit- 
ual bondage  to  the  Court  of  Rome,  and  led  them  to  open 

*  There  were  two  of  these  great  migrations  of  the  Paulicians  to  the  West ; 
the  first,  from  motives,  possibly,  of  policy  rather  than  persecution,  under 
the  Emperor  Constantine  Copronymus,  about  the  year  750 ;  the  second,  en- 
forced by  John  Zimisces,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  tenth  century.  '*  Con- 
stantine Copronymus,  with  their  own  consent,  transported  a  great  body  oi 
Paulicians  into  Thrace,  as  an  outpost  to  the  Byzantine  Empire.  John  Zim- 
isces conducted  another  great  migration  to  the  valleys  of  Mount  Haemus." — 
Milman's  Latin  Christianity,  vol.  v.  p.  159. 

^  In  its  long  career  and  great  extension,  the  Paulician  faith  branched  into 
several  distinct  forms.  The  Euchites,  Bogomilians,  and  Cathartists  were  alJ 
of  a  similar  character  and  common  origin. 


THE  PAULICIANS,  53 

their  minds  gladly  to  the  Paulician  faith.  To  this  revolt 
from  the  authority  of  the  Papal  Church  there  could  then 
be  but  one  issue.  The  time  had  not  yet  come  when  those 
bonds  could  be  broken,  and  the  unhappy  Albigenses  were 
doomed.  In  the  year  1207,  Pope  Innocent  III.  pro- 
claimed a  crusade  against  them,  in  which  their  savage 
and  greedy  neighbors  were  but  too  eager  to  engage.  The 
horrors  suffered  by  the  disciples  of  the  same  faith  five 
hundred  years  before,  upon  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates, 
were  re-enacted  and  surpassed  in  the  south  of  France. 
The  blood  of  countless  thousands  of  the  people  drenched 
the  soil ;  the  faith  of  the  Albigenses  was  rooted  out ;  and 
the  country,  before  essentially  independent,  was  sub- 
jected at  once  to  the  temporal  despotism  of  the  King  of 
France,  and  the  spiritual  despotism  of  the  Pope. 

Such  is  the  end  of  the  sad  history  of  the  Paulician 
sect — a  sect  characterized,  through  all  its  long  and  event- 
ful career,  by  an  earnest  though  unsuccessful  struggle 
with  the  darkness  of  the  intellectual  world  and  the  re- 
morseless tyranny  of  Church  and  State.  There  is  one 
very  important  truth  taught  by  this  history  which  the 
Church  of  those  evil  times  had  never  learned,  which  many 
in  our  own  day  seem  unable  to  receive.  It  is  that  a 
great  deal  of  doctrinal  error  may  coexist  in  the  human 
mind  and  in  the  Church,  with  that  love  to  God  and  man 
which  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law,  and  that  faith  which 
saves  the  soul.  The  Paulician  heresy  seems  to  have  been 
the  last  flicker  of  light  and  life  in  the  Eastern  Church. 
That  heresy  suppressed,  the  dreary  reign  of  superstition 
and  of  political  and  spiritual  despotism  remained  age 
after  age,  unbroken  and  undisturbed. 


CHAPTER  V. 


BASIL  THE   MACEDONIAN. 

THE  DECAY   OF  THE  EMPIRE. 

From  the  accession  of  Leo  the  Isaurian,  in  717,  the 
Iconoclast  Emperors  held  the  throne  for  a  hundred  and 
twenty-five  years,  until  the  death  of  Theophilus,  in  842.* 
This  period  was  the  golden  age  of  the  Byzantine  Em- 
pire. The  Emperors  were  most  of  them  men  of  energy 
and  ability,  the  vast  machine  of  the  civil  government  was 
in  full  vigor  and  efficiency,  justice  was  regularly  admin- 
istered, a  rapidly  growing  commerce  filled  the  Empire 
with  wealth,  and  the  iconoclastic  policy  of  the  govern- 
ment gave  to  the  Church  and  society  a  moral  tone,  which 
was  lost  upon  the  restoration  of  image  worship,  never 
again  to  be  recovered. 

Theophilus  left  his  throne  to  his  wife  Theodora  and 
son  Michael  III.,  whose  moral  and  intellectual  manhood 
was  purposely  ruined   by  his  mother,   that  she  might 

^  The  order  of  succession  was  as  follows:  Leo  (III.)  the  Isaurian, 
717-741;  Constantine  ( V. )  Copronymus,  741-775;  Leo  IV.,  775-780;  his 
widow,  the  Empress  Irene,  and  his  son,  Constantine  VI.,  780-802;  Nice- 
phorus  I.,  802-811;  Michael  (I.)  Rhangabe,  811-813;  Leo  (V.)  the  Ar- 
menian, 813-820;  Michael  (II.)  the  Stammerer,  820-829;  Theophilus, 
829-842.  Theophilus  was  succeeded  by  his  wife,  the  Empress  Theodora, 
as  regent  for  their  son,  Michael  (III.)  the  Drunkard,  who  reignel  842-867 


BASIL  THE  MACEDONIAN,  55 

retain  the  power  in  her  own  hands.  The  first  measure 
of  Theodora  was  the  restoration  of  image  worship ;  and 
this  reaction  against  the  comparative  austerity  of  the 
iconoclast  government  was  marked,  Hke  the  English  Res- 
toration of  Charles  II.,  by  a  carnival  of  license  and  vice. 
Mr.  Finlay  observes  that  "the  overthrow  of  the  Icono- 
clasts, and  the  destruction  of  the  Paulicians,  were  victo- 
ries of  the  Greek  race  and  Church  over  the  Asiatics,  which 
were  neither  forgotten  nor  forgiven,"  and  that  the  con- 
quest of  Asia  Minor  by  the  Turks  was  facilitated  by  the 
hatred  of  the  native  Asiatics  to  Greek  rule.^  From  this 
time  on,  the  history  of  the  Empire  is  but  the  painful 
record  of  slow  but  steady  and  hopeless  decay,  which 
deserves  and  will  repay  but  a  very  brief  review. 

The  year  867  was  marked  by  the  accession  of  Basil 
I.,  surnamed  the  Macedonian,  the  founder  of  the  longest, 
perhaps  the  most  powerful  dynasty  which  ever  occupied 
the  Byzantine  throne.  Basil  had  entered  Constantinople 
a  simple  Slavonian  peasant,  with  his  wallet  upon  his 
shoulder,  seeking  employment.  His  intelligence  and 
ability,  his  athletic  figure  and  great  strength,  and  his 
marvelous  skill  in  taming  unruly  horses,  in  wrestling, 
and  the  sports  of  the  chase,  soon  attracted  the  attention 
of  Michael  the  Drunkard,  and  secured  him  an  important 
position  in  the  imperial  household.  The  Slavonian 
groom  soon  became  the  worthless  Emperor's  prime 
favorite;  and  at  length,  as  much  apparently  from  caprice 
or  spite  as  from  any  other  motive,  Michael  placed  the 
imperial  crown  upon  his  head,  and  made  him  his  col- 
league in  the  government.     Basil  repaid  this  boundless 

'  Byzantine  Empire,  vol.  ii.  pp.  107,  108. 


§6  THE  BYZANTINE  EMI  /RE. 

favor  by  assassinating  his  benefactor,  and  became  sole 
Emperor  in  867.  He  was  a  man  as  destitute  of  moral 
character  as  of  any  civil  or  military  training  for  the  high 
position  to  which  he  had  been  so  suddenly  and  so  strange- 
ly elevated.  But  so  perfect  was  the  political  system  of 
which  he  found  himself  at  the  head,  and  such  was  his 
native  shrewdness  and  ability,  that  he  was  able  to  con- 
duct the  government  with  eminent  success.  A  man  of 
the  people,  and  familiar  with  the  popular  wants  and  bur- 
dens, he  set  himself  with  no  little  energy  to  lighten  the 
pressure  of  taxation  and  to  introduce  order,  economy, 
and  vigor  into  every  department  of  his  administration. 
His  diligence  was  rewarded  by  the  continuance  of  his 
family  in  the  government  of  a  powerful  and  prosperous 
empire  for  nearly  two  hundred  years. ^ 

As  we  contemplate  the  history  of  the  Empire  during 

^  The  Emperors  of  the  Basilian  dynasty  were  as  follows :  Basil  I., 
867-886  ;  his  son,  Leo  VI.  (the  Philosopher),  886-912  ;  Alexander,  brother 
of  Leo  VL,  912-913  ;  Constantine  (VIL)'Porphyrogenitus,  son  of  Leo  VI., 
913  (Romanus  I.  was  his  guardian,  afterwards  his  colleague  or  master, 
9i3-944)-949;  Romanus  II.,  son  of  Constantine  VII.,  949-963;  Basil  II. 
(Bulgaroktonos),  963  (the  Emperors  Nicephorus  IL,  963-969,  and  John 
Zimisces,  969-973,  were  his  guardians  during  his  minority )-i025  ;  Con- 
stantine VIIL,  brother  of  Basil  II.,  1025-1028;  Romanus  III.,  husband 
of  Zoe,  daughter  of  Constantine  VIIL,  1 028-1034;  Michael  IV.  (the  Paph- 
lagonian),  second  husband  of  Zoe,  1034-104 1;  Michael  V.,  third  husband 
of  Zoe,  1042;  Constantine  IX.,  fourth  husband  of  Zoe,  1042-1054;  the 
Empress  Theodora,  another  daughter  of  Constantine  VIIL,  and  the  last 
scion  of  the  family  of  Basil  the  Macedonian,  1054-1056. 

Basil  II. ,  surnamed  Bulgaroktonos,  or  Slayer  of  the  Bulgarisins, 
was  the  last  really  able  man  who  ever  occupied  the  Byzantine  throne 
To  recount  the  long  list  of  undistinguished,  and  too  often  worthless 
Emperors,  who  reigned  from  1056  to  the  accession  of  Constantine  (XI. ■) 
Paleologus,  the  last  Greek  Emperor,  in  1448,  would  be  alike  tedious  and 
inprofitable. 


BASIL  THE  MACEDONIAN.  5) 

this  long  period,  we  are  struck  at  once  by  its  still  re- 
maining grandeur,  prosperity,  and  power,  and  by  the 
most  unmistakable  indications  of  political,  social,  and  in- 
tellectual decay.  A  diligent  and  skillful  manufacturing 
industry  and  a  vast  and  opulent  commerce  still  filled  the 
Empire  and  the  imperial  treasury  with  enormous  wealth. 
The  richness  and  magnificence  of  Constantinople  at  this 
period  have  rarely  been  equaled  in  any  city  of  either 
ancient  or  modern  times.  When  the  Empress  Theodora 
was  forced  to  abdicate  in  favor  of  her  son  Michael  the 
Drunkard,  she  reported  as  then  in  the  treasury  the  im- 
mense sum  of  one  hundred  and  nine  thousand  pounds 
weight  of  gold,  and  three  hundred  thousand  pounds  of 
silver,  besides  rich  stores  of  other  precious  commodities 
The  Emperor  Basil  II.,  after  twenty-five  years  of  costly 
wars,  left  an.  accumulated  treasure  hardly  less  in  amount 
At  the  same  time  the  Empire  abounded  in  wealthy  mag 
nates  whose  riches  bore  no  inconsiderable  proportion  U 
those  of  the  government.^  Literature  and  science  werf 
cultivated  and  ostentatiously  patronized,  and  many  men 
of  great  and  varied  learning  still  adorned  society.  The 
elaborate  machinery  of  the  civil  government  moved  as 
yet  with  quiet  and  efficient  order,  and  the  military  es- 
tablishment showed  no  signs  of  decay.  The  reigns  of 
Nicephorus  11. ,  John  Zimisces,  and  Basil  II.  form  a 
period  of  conquest  and  military  glory  hardly  surpassed 
by  any  in  the  history  of  the  Empire.  Crete,  Cyprus,  Anti- 
och,  and  northern  Syria  were  recovered  from  the  Sara- 
cens, and  the  boundaries  of  the  Empire  were  once  more 

^  Finlay's  Byzantine  Empire,  vol.  i.  p.  252;  Gibbon,  vol.  v.  pp.  348- 
353- 

3* 


$8  THE  BYZANTINE  EMPIRE, 

extended  to  the  Tigris ;  and  finally,  the  able  and  inde- 
fatigable, but  stern  and  cruel  lasil  II.,  surnamed  Bul- 
garoktonos,  or  Bulgarian-slayer,  after  an  obstinate  strug* 
gle  of  twenty-two  years,  completely  destroyed  the  pow- 
erful kingdom  of  the  Bulgarians,  and  extended  his 
Empire  to  the  Danube  and  the  Adriatic. 

But  this  magnificence  and  military  success  were  but 
the  delusive  covering  of  radical  and  universal  decay.  The 
despotism  of  the  Emperors  was  now  absolute  in  both 
State  and  Church.  They  elevated  and  deposed  the 
patriarchs  at  their  pleasure ;  the  provincial  bishops  be- 
came the  mere  creatures  of  the  civil  power ;  all  munici- 
pal institutions  were  abolished  ;  the  imperial  senate  had 
sunk  into  a  mere  executive  council.  A  pompous  and 
tedious  ceremonial,  which  should  conceal  the  sacred  per- 
son of  the  emperor  from  the  eyes  of  mankind,  became  a 
chief  subject  of  thought  and  study  to  the  degenerate 
Greeks.  The  court,  much  of  the  time  thoroughly  cor- 
rupt, was  too  often  disgraced  by  shameless  vice  and  by 
constant  intrigues  and  conspiracies. 

It  was  during  this  period  that  the  wonderful  machinery 
of  the  civil  government,  which  had  so  long  upheld  the 
Empire,  began  to  be  neglected  and  broken  up.  Instead 
of  the  able  and  thoroughly  trained  ministers  and  civil 
officers  who  had  heretofore  filled  the  several  depart- 
ments of  government,  high  and  responsible  trusts  now 
began  to  be  committed  to  eunuchs  and  slaves.  With 
this  neglect  of  the  civil  system  there  was  a  correspond- 
ing decline  in  the  learning  and  ability  of  its  members ; 
and  as  the  judges  became  poorer  and  less  learned,  the 
administration  of  justice  became  less  regular  and  impar- 


BASIL  THE  MACEDONIAN.  59 

tial,  and  the  security  and  order  of  society  were  sadly 
impaired. 

With  this  period  also  passed  away  the  commercial 
prosperity  of  the  Empire.  The  wise  policy  of  Leo  the 
Isaurian  was  abandoned,  and  monopolies  and  imperial 
favoritism  were  allowed  to  obstruct  the  channels  of  trade. 
Swarms  of  Saracen  pirates  began  to  rove  the  seas  and 
ravage  the  islands  and  coasts  of  the  ^gean.  Constant 
wars,  which  were  in  reality  little  else  than  great  slave- 
catching  expeditions,  had  long  been  waged  by  the  Sara- 
cen emirs  upon  the  border  provinces,  until  eastern  Asia 
Minor  was  almost  depopulated  ;  the  long  struggle  of  Basil 
11.  with  the  Bulgarians  left  the  provinces  of  the  West 
equally  exhausted ;  and  thus  the  general  vigor,  the  trade, 
and  the  population  of  the  Empire  were  wasting  away. 
As  the  middle  classes  disappeared,  the  country  every- 
where passed  into  the  hands  of  great  military  nobles,  who 
reigned  like  kings  upon  their  vast  estates,  and  lived  in 
royal  magnificence  at  Constantinople. 

With  the  death  of  Basil  II.,  in  1025,  the  glory  of  the 
Empire  departed.  The  sovereigns  of  his  line,  who  still 
occupied  the  throne  for  thirty-four  years,  were  as  incom- 
petent as  they  were  base  and  profligate.  Everything 
tended  steadily  to  ruin.  The  old  vigor  of  the  govern- 
mental system  was  gone ;  the  army,  no  longer  either 
properly  disciplined  or  ably  commanded,  lost  its  ancient 
superiority  over  the  forces  of  neighboring  powers ;  places, 
privileges,  and  justice  itself  were  openly  and  shamelessly 
sold ;  and  the  whole  Empire  groaned  beneath  an  intol- 
erable burden  of  corruption,  misgovernment,  and  oppres- 
sion. 


6o  THE  BYZANTINE  EMPIRE. 

The  death  of  the  Empi  .ss  Theodora,  the  last  scion  of 
the  family  of  Basil  the  Macedonian,  in  1057,  was  followed 
the  same  year  by  a  most  important   revolution,  which 
placed  the  imperial  crown  upon  the  head  of  Isaac  Com- 
nenus,  one  of  the  great  nobles  of  Asia  Minor.    From  this 
time  on  until  the  Turkish  conquest  the  throne  remained 
in  the  possession  of  one  or  another  of  these  great  fami- 
lies.    In  the  eyes  of  his  contemporaries,  the  Empire  of 
Isaac  Comnenus  seemed  hardly  less  magnificent,  pros- 
perous, and  powerful  than  that  of  Basil  the  Macedonian. 
It  was,  however,  but  a  splendid  shadow  from  which  the 
strength  and  substance  had  departed.     The  old  civil  sys- 
tem now  fell  almost  entirely  into  disuse.     Official  educa- 
tion and  regular  promotion  in  great  measure  ceased,  and 
the  offices  of  government  were  mostly  intrusted  to  ser- 
vants of  the  Emperors  from  their  private  principalities. 
'*This  change  in  the  position  of  the  dignitaries  of  the 
Empire  enabled  the  sovereign  to  intrust  the  direction  of 
the  government  to  the  stewards  of  his  household.     Now, 
though  these  men  were  not  trained  in  the  public  service, 
yet  their  previous  duties  prevented  the  practice  from  pro- 
ducing so  great  an  amount  of  public  inconvenience  as  to 
cause   general  dissatisfaction.     .....     We   must 

recollect  that  many  of  the  great  famiHes  in  the  Byzantine 
Empire  at  this  period  possessed  households  so  numerous 
as  often  to  count  their  domestic  slaves  by  thousands. 
Those  who  maintained  such  establishments  in  the  capital 
were  proprietors  of  immense  estates  in  the  provinces,  and 
the  intendants  who  managed  their  affairs  were  conse- 
quently trained  to  business  in  a  school  which  afforded 
them  as  extensive  an  experience  of  government  as  can 


BASIL  THE  MACEDONIAN,  6l 

now  be  gained  by  the  individuals  who  direct  the  admin- 
istration of  many  of  the  German  principalities."  ^  Yet 
the  change  was  every  way  and  immensely  for  the  worse. 
The  policy  of  the  new  imperial  system  was  narrow,  short- 
sighted, and  selfish.  Roads,  fortifications,  the  administra- 
tion of  justice,  commerce,  all  the  great  interests  of  society 
were  everywhere  neglected,  and  universal  decay  seized 
upon  the  Empire. 

While  the  ancient  dominion  of  Rome  was  thus  bowing 
with  the  decrepitude  of  age,  other  powers,  fresh  with  the 
vigor  of  youth,  and  with  which  the  tottering  Empire 
found  itself  unable  to  cope,  were  rising  to  their  place  in 
the  political  sphere — powers  whose  appearance  indicates 
the  dawning  of  the  modern  age.  The  small  but  ener- 
getic and  powerful  republics  of  Italy  were  now  beginning 
to  fill  the  seas  with  their  fleets  and  to  dispute  the  ancient 
commercial  supremacy  of  Constantinople.  The  Normans, 
already  established  in  southern  Italy  and  Sicily,  were 
soon,  under  their  famous  leader,  Robert  Guiscard,  to  dis- 
play their  erratic  but  marvelous  energy  in  the  western 
provinces  of  the  Empire ;  while  in  the  distant  east  the 
Seljukian  Turks  had  begun  to  pour  the  swarms  of  their 
irregular  cavalry  over  the  high  plains  of  Armenia. 

The  conquest  of  Asia  Minor  by  the  Seljuk  princes  was 
one  of  the  most  efficient  of  the  immediate  causes  of  the 
fall  of  the  Empire.  In  the  year  1063,  the  great  Alp 
Arslan  ascended  the  throne  of  Persia,  and  two  years  later 
he  effected  the  conquest  of  Armenia  and  Georgia.  The 
presence  of  the  victorious  Turks  in  Asia  Minor  compelled 
the  Empress  Eudocia,  the  widow  of  Constantine  Ducas, 

*  Finlay's  Byzantine  Empire,  vol.  ii.  p.  4. 


62  THE  BYZANTINE  EMPIRE, 

the  successor  of  Isaac  Comnenus,  to  give  her  hand  to  a 
soldier ;  and  Romanus  Diogenes,  a  brave  but  rash  and 
injudicious  general,  was  crowned  Emperor  in  1068. 
Romanus  opened  his  campaign  with  great  vigor  and  suc- 
cess. The  scattered  bands  of  the  Turks  were  chased 
beyond  the  Euphrates,  and  had  the  Emperor  listened  to 
the  fair  proposals  of  Alp  Arslan,  an  honorable  peace 
might  have  been  secured.  Those  proposals  were  con- 
temptuously rejected,  and  in  the  great  battle  which  fol- 
lowed, Romanus  was  defeated  and  taken  prisoner.  After 
this  great  disaster  to  the  Christian  arms,  the  progress  of 
the  Turks  was  steady  and  irresistible.  Upon  the  death 
of  Malek  Shah,  in  1092,  the  Seljukian  Empire  was  broken 
up.  The  vast  dominions  of  the  dead  Sultan  were  divided 
among  his  sons,  while  Soliman,  the  head  of  another  branch 
of  the  royal  line,  marched  to  found  for  himself  a  new 
kingdom  in  the  fair  provinces  of  Asia  Minor.  A  double 
rebellion  in  the  Empire  invited  his  arms  to  the  very  shores 
of  the  Bosphorus.  Asia  Minor  was  lost,  and  the  ancient 
city  of  Nicaea  became  the  capital  of  this  new  conquest  of 
Islam,  the  Turkish  Kingdom  of  Roum.  The  country 
thus  subdued  was  at  once  colonized,  and,  in  the  course  of 
a  single  generation,  the  Turks  formed  a  majority  of  the 
inhabitants  in  Cappadocia,  Phrygia,  and  Galatia. 


CHAPTER    VI. 


THE    END. 

CAPTURE  OF  CONSTANTINOPLE  BY  THE  CRUSADERS- 
FOUR  EMPIRES — RECOVERY  OF  CONSTANTINOPLE 
BY  THE  GREEKS — CONQUEST  OF  THE  CITY  AND 
EXTINCTION   OF   THE   EMPIRE   BY  THE   TURKS. 

In  the  year  1081,  a  successful  rebellion  raised  Alexis 
Comnenus  to  the  throne — an  emperor  famous  in  history 
for  his  connection  with  the  First  Crusade.  Alexis  took 
Constantinople  by  storm.  The  city  was  pillaged  and  in 
part  destroyed,  thus  receiving  the  first  great  blow  which 
had  ever  been  inflicted  upon  it.  From  this  time  on,  the 
incessant  march  of  the  vast  crusading  hosts  became  to 
the  government  of  the  Empire  the  one  topic  of  absorb- 
ing interest  and  its  source  of  greatest  danger.  The  First 
Crusade  (in  1096-7) 'afforded  Alexis  some  temporary  re- 
lief by  breaking  the  power  of  the  Turkish  Kingdom  of 
Roum,  and  restoring  the  western  half  of  Asia  Minor  to 
the  Empire.  But  the  help  brought  to  the  Greeks  by  the 
Crusaders  was  transient  and  delusive,  while  the  danger 
to  the  Empire  from  these  vast  barbarian  movements  was 
constant  and  ever  increasing.  The  Crusaders  accused  the 
Greek  government  and  people  of  indifference,  and  even 


64  THE  BYZANTINE  EMPIRE, 

of  hostility  to  their  cause.  The  mutual  jealousies  of  race 
and  religion  were  deepened  by  the  licentious,  marauding 
propensities  of  the  Crusaders  into  a  fierce  and  deadly  en- 
mity, until,  finally,  the  adventurers  of  the  West,  forgetting 
their  vows  and  the  purpose  for  which  they  had  ranged 
themselves  under  the  banner  of  the  Cross,  turned  their 
arms  against  their  fellow- Christians  of  the  Empire.  That 
Empire  was  already  rotten  to  the  core  and  well  deserving 
of  such  a  fate,  when,  in  1203,  the  knights  of  the  Fourth 
Crusade,  aided  by  the  Venetians,  laid  siege  to  Constanti- 
nople. The  inadequate  garrison  defended  the  city  with 
great  bravery,  but  fortune  soon  decided  in  favor  of  the 
besiegers,  and  on  the  12th  of  April,  1204,  the  ancient 
capital  of  the  Caesars  bowed  for  the  first  time  to  a  foreign 
foe.*  Then  followed  a  scene  of  horror  rarely  surpassed 
in  all  the  dark  history  of  war.  The  victorious  Crusaders 
set  fire  to  the  city,  and  in  the  light  of  a  vast  and  awful 
conflagration  entered  upon  their  fiendish  work  of  plunder, 
lust,  and  blood.  The  city  was  ruined.  Those  of  its 
opulent  citizens  who  escaped  with  life,  after  having  seen 
their  houses  plundered,  their  wives  dishonored,  and  their 
children  reduced  to  slavery,  were  driven  forth  in  poverty 
beyond  the  walls.  Every  insult  was  heaped  by  the 
Catholic  victors  upon  the  ceremonies  and  the  churches  of 
the  Greek  faith.  Horses  were  stabled  in  some  of  the 
churches,  while  others  were  made  the  scenes  of  licentious 
orgies  too  vile  to  be  described.  At  length,  after  these 
scenes  of  horror  had  continued  for  several  days,  the  Latin 
leaders  restored  some  semblance  of  order,  divided  their 
enormous  booty,  proceeded  to  organize  the  government, 

*  Gibbon,  vL  85-93  J  Milman,  book  ix.  chap,  viu 


CAPTURE  OF  CONSTANTINOPLE,  65 

and  on  the  9th  of  May,  1204,  elected  Baldwin,  Count  of 
Flanders,  the  first  Latin  Emperor  of  Constantinople. 

The  new  Latin  Empire,  however,  was  but  a  pitiful 
counterfeit  of  even  the  degenerate  Greek  Empire  of  the 
twelfth  century.  In  the  nominal  division  of  their  con- 
quests, the  Crusaders  allowed  to  the  new  Emperor  but  a 
fourth  part  of  the  Byzantine  dominions,  while,  in  fact,  the 
Empire  of  Baldwin  soon  embraced  little  more  than  the 
city  of  Constantinople,  with  the  adjacent  regions  of  Thrace. 
The  Venetians  reserved  for  their  share  the  provinces  of  the 
north-west,  with  Adrianople  for  their  capital,  while  Mace- 
donia and  Greece,  under  the  name  of  the  Kingdom  of 
Saloniki,  or  Thessalonica,  were  bestowed  upon  Boniface, 
Marquis  of  Montferrat.  The  conquest  of  the  capital, 
however,  was  very  far  from  securing  to  the  Latins  the 
full  possession  of  the  Empire.  Two  members  of  the  im- 
perial family  succeeded  in  estabhshing  themselves  as  inde- 
pendent sovereigns.  Michael  Angelos  Comnenus  became 
the  first  Despot  of  Epirus;  and  a  few  years  later  his 
brother  and  successor,  Theodore,  having  expelled  Deme- 
trius, the  son  of  Boniface,  from  Macedonia,  and  the  Vene- 
tians from  Adrianople,  assumed  the  title  of  Emperor  of 
Thessalonica.  Alexis  Comnenus  was  Governor  of  Trebi- 
zond,  when  Constantinople  was  taken  by  the  Crusaders. 
Assuming  the  purple  as  heir  to  the  throne,  he  and  his 
successors  continued  their  poor  play  of  imperial  greatness 
in  that  distant  province,  until  it  was  ended  by  Moham- 
med IL  in  1 46 1. 

The  honor  of  the  Greek  name  and  arms,  however,  was 
most  successfully  vindicated  by  Theodore  Lascaris,  who 
had  been  hastily  invested  with  the  imperial  purple  in  the 


66  THE  BYZANTINE  EMPIRE. 

midst  of  the  tumult  occasioned  by  the  final  assault  of  the 
city  by  the  Crusaders.  Theodore  escaped  across  the 
Bosphorus,  and,  by  his  prudence  and  ability,  soon  suc- 
ceeded in  reorganizing  the  poor  remains  of  Byzantine 
power  and  dominion  in  north-western  Asia  Minor.  The 
important  city  of  Nicsea  opened  its  gates  to  him,  and 
became  for  nearly  sixty  years  the  capital  of  a  fourth 
Empire,  which,  by  its  prosperity  and  growing  power,  soon 
made  good  its  claim  to  be  regarded  as  the  true  representa- 
tive of  the  ancient  dominion  of  the  Caesars.  Theodore 
Lascaris  (i 204-1 222)  and  his  two  successors,  John  III. 
(i 222-1 254)  and  Theodore  Lasdaris  II.  (i  254-1 258), 
were  all  of  them  men  of  character,  courage,  and  unusual 
administrative  ability.  Under  their  government,  the  his- 
tory of  the  Empire  of  Nicaea  presents  one  of  the  most 
pleasing  and  instructive  portions  of  the  later  Byzantine 
annals.^  The  affairs  of  the  Church  were  kept,  to  a  far 
greater  extent  than  formerly,  separate  from  those  of  the 
State.  The  government  was  administered  with  liberality, 
economy,  and  vigor.  The  people,  now  proprietors  of  the 
lands  they  tilled,  and  made  to  feel  a  personal  interest  in 
the  government,  not  only  became  industrious  and  pros- 
perous, but  rapidly  regained  their  long  lost  military  spirit. 
The  Empire  of  John  III.  presented  to  the  world  the 
strange  spectacle  of  a  Greek  Empire,  strong  in  the  field 
by  the  valor  of  its  own  citizens,  and  wealthy  and  pros- 
perous through  the  agricultural  and  manufacturing  indus- 
try of  a  free  people.  The  Empire  of  Nicaea  thus  soon 
found  itself  superior  in  military  strength  to  all  its  neigh- 

*  Finlay's  Byzantine  Empire,  book  iv.  chap.  i. ;  Gibbon,  vi.  I4i-S« 


END  OF  THE  LA  TIN  EMPIRE,  67 

bors,  and  extended  its  limits  on  every  hand.  The  power 
of  the  Seljukian  Turks  was  now  thoroughly  decayed,  and 
the  several  emirs,  little  else  than  independent  sovereigns 
in  their  several  provinces,  were  no  match  for  the  well- 
organized  forces  of  their  Greek  neighbors.  The  Empire 
of  Thessalonica  possessed  no  elements  of  enduring 
strength,  and  its  feeble  existence  soon  came  to  an  end. 
About  the  year  1240,  Theodore  Comnenus  resigned  the 
crown  to  John  III.,  and  the  two  Empires  were  again 
united. 

The  Latin  Empire,  the  abortive  result  of  the  conquest 
of  Constantinople  by  the  Crusaders,  pursued  its  feeble 
and  inglorious  career  for  a  period  of  fifty-seven  years, 
without  revenues  or  resources  of  any  kind,  and  with  no 
military  strength  but  what  they  derived  from  western 
adventurers,  who,  for  a  short  time,  flocked  to  Constanti- 
nople to  share  in  the  spoils  of  the  East;  the  Latin 
Emperors  were  soon  reduced  to  wander  from  court  to 
court  in  western  Europe,  begging  for  succors  which  were 
grudgingly  ai\d  scantily  bestowed.  At  last,  this  poor 
shadow  of  an  Empire  wholly  faded  away,  and  in  1261 
Michael  Paleologus,  Emperor  of  Nicaea,  recovered  Con- 
stantinople  by  the  aid  of  the  Genoese,  and  restored  the 
Byzantine  Empire.^ 

By  this  achievement  Michael  Paleologus  acquired  a 
renown  which  he  in  no  wise  deserved.  "  He  was  a  type 
of  the  Constantinopolitan  Greek  nobles  and  officials  in 
the  Empire  he  founded  and  transmitted  to  his  descend- 
ants. He  was  selfish,  hypocritical,  able,  and  accom- 
plislied ;  an  inborn  liar,  meddling  and  ambitious,  cruel 
^  Gibbon,  vi.  150J  Finla/s  Byzantine  Empire,  ii.  423- -8. 


68  7 BE  BYZANTINE  EMPIRE. 

and  rapacious.  .  .  .  He  ought  to  be  execrated  as 
the  corrupter  of  the  Greek  race."  ^  With  the  recovery 
of  Constantinople,  the  short-Hved  revival  of  the  social 
and  political  life  of  the  Greeks,  which  had  appeared  in 
the  Empire  of  Nicaea,  came  to  a  sudden  end.  All  the 
old  vices  of  the  Empire  were  revived  in  an  exaggerated 
form.  ''  Literary  taste,  political  honesty,  patriotic  feeling, 
military  honor,  civil  liberty,  and  judicial  purity,  seem  all 
to  have  abandoned  the  Greek  race."  "^  A  more  wretched, 
shameful  history  than  that  of  the  restored  Greek  Empire, 
until  its  final  overthrow  by  the  Turks,  does  not  disgrace 
the  annals  of  mankind.  Government  and  people  were 
alike  corrupt,  and  the  slaves  of  a  groveling  superstition. 
There  was  abundance  of  heresy  and  schism,  but  the  very 
subjects  of  these  barren  controversies  reveal  the  de- 
graded condition  of  the  Church.  A  party  called  Quiet- 
ists  had  arisen  among  the  monks  of  Mount  Athos,  who 
placed  the  seat  of  the  soul  in  the  navel,  and  taught  that 
if  a  man  would  shut  himself  up  in  solitude,  and  fix  his 
eyes  and  his  thoughts  day  after  d^y  upon  his  abdomen, 
he  would,  after  a  time,  discern  a  mystical  light,  and  be 
filled  with  ineffable  joy.  Gibbon  cites  the  following 
directions  from  a  Quietist  abbot,  as  to  the  method  of 
conducting  this  ecstatic  meditation:  "When  thou  art 
alone  in  thy  cell,  shut  thy  door,  and  seat  thyself  in  a 
corner ;  raise  thy  mind  above  all  things  vain  and  transi- 
tory ;  recline  thy  beard  and  chin  on  thy  breast ;  turn  thy 
eyes  and  thy  thoughts  towards  the  middle  of  thy  belly, 
the  region  of  the  navel,  and  search  the  place  of  the 
heart,  the  seat  of  the  soul.     At  first  all  will  be  dark  and 

*  Finky's  Byzantine  Empire,  ii.  463.  '  Id.  ii.,  462. 


GREEK  EMPIRE  RESTORED,  69 

comfortless ;  but  if  you  persevere,  day  and  night,  you 
will  feel  an  ineffable  joy ;  and  no  sooner  has  the  soul 
discerned  the  place  of  the  heart,  than  it  is  involved  in  a 
mystical  and  ethereal  light."  ^  A  vigorous  attack  upon 
this  absurdity  by  Barlaam,  a  Greek  monk  of  Calabria, 
in  southern  Italy,  drove  Gregory  Palamas  to  take  the 
ground  in  defense  that  God  dwells  in  actual  but  un- 
created light,  which  was  revealed  to  human  vision  at 
the  transfiguration  upon  Mount  Tabor,  and  which  the 
pious  soul,  withdrawn  from  all  transitory  things  in  holy 
and  long  continued  meditation,  may  still  hope  spiritually 
to  behold.  The  dispute  between  the  Barlaamists  and  the 
Palamites  raged  long  and  furiously,  until  a  formal  Synod 
of  the  Greek  Church,  presided  ovei:  by  the  Emperor 
John  Cantacuzene  in  person,  decided  in  favor  of  the 
uncreated  light  of  Mount  Tabor,  and  Barlaam  and  his 
followers  were  pronounced  heretics  and  schismatics.  But 
though  Barlaam  saw  his  own  teachings,  with  all  sense 
and  reason,  rejected  by  the  degenerate  Church  of  the 
East,  he  did  not  live  in  vain.  In  the  rising  intelligence 
of  the  West  he  found  a  more  congenial  soil,  and  left  a 
deep  impress  upon  his  age.  He  was  a  man  of  profound 
learning  and  true  liberality  of  mind — the  first  of  that 
long  list  of  scholars  and  men  of  genius  who  made  the 
Italy  of  the  Middle  Ages  illustrious.  Barlaam  was  the 
friend  of  Petrarch,  and  the  first  to  call  the  attention  of 
Western  Europe  to  the  poetry  of  ancient  Greece  in  its 
original  tongue.  Leo  Pilatus,  a  pupil  of  Barlaam,  was 
the  first  teacher  of  Greek  in  the  cities  of  Italy. '^ 

Both  the  capital  and  the  Empire  were  now  but  the 
*  Decline  and  Fall,  vol.  vi.  p.  194.  *  Id.,  vi.  32S-330. 


TO  THE  BYZANTINE  EMPIRE. 

miserable  wrecks  of  their  former  greatness.  The  wealth 
and  splendor  of  Constantinople  were  gone,  its  commerce 
was  neglected  and  ruined.  The  Genoese  had  established 
a  strong  commercial  colony  at  Galata,  one  of  the  suburbs 
of  Constantinople,  and  the  fierce  war  which  they  were 
waging  with  the  Venetians  led  to  obstinate  conflicts 
within  the  very  walls  of  the  city.  Three  great  fires, 
kindled  by  the  victorious  Crusaders,  had  left  a  large  part 
of  Constantinople  a  dreary  waste  of  ashes  and  blackened 
ruins.  Finlay  cites  Villehardouin,  the  historian  of  the 
Latin  conquest,  as  affirming  that  more  buildings  were 
destroyed  by  these  three  fires  than  were  contained  in  the 
three  largest  cities  of  France.^ 

The  Turkish  emirs,  now  stronger  than  the  Emperors, 
were  already  crowding  the  Greeks  steadily  back  to  the 
sea,  when,  a  Httle  later  than  the  year  1300,  the  conquest 
of  Prusa,  or  Brusa,  by  Orchan,  the  son  of  Othman,  laid 
the  foundation  of  the  Ottoman  Empire.  The  new  power 
advanced  with  rapid  strides,  and  Asia  Minor  was  soon 
lost  forever  to  the  Greeks ;  nor  were  the  Turks  long  con- 
fined to  Asia.  They  crossed  the  narrow  straits  of  the 
Bosphorus  and  the  Dardanelles,  and  ravaged  almost  un- 
resisted the  opposite  districts  of  Thrace.  Turkish  mer- 
cenaries became  the  principal  military  reHance  of  the 
imperial  government  A  deeper  disgrace  has  rai;ely 
been  inflicted  upon  the  Christian  name,  than  when  the 
Empress-regent  Anne  of  Savoy  and  John  Cantacuzene, 
in  their  civil  struggle  for  the  possession  of  the  throne 
(i 341-1346),  both  depended  for  success  upon  Turkish 
allies,  and  both  paid  their  barbarian  hirelings  by  allow- 

1  Byzantine  Empire,  ii.  332. 


DEGRADATION  OF  THE  GREEKS,  71 

ing  them  to  carry  off  into  slavery  the  Christian  inhabi- 
tants of  Thrace.  Yet  a  lower  depth  of  degradation  was 
reached,  if  such  a  thing  were  possible,  when  about  the 
year  1390,  the  Emperor  Manuel,  displaying  the  imperial 
standard  at  the  head  of  the  Greek  contingent,  attended 
Sultan  Bajazet,  as  his  humble  vassal,  to  the  siege  of 
Philadelphia.  The  brave  citizens  of  that  last  sad  strong- 
hold of  Greek  municipal  vigor  and  independence  at  first 
disregarded  Bajazet's  summons  to  surrender.  But  when 
they  saw  the  Emperor  and  the  imperial  standard  among 
their  besiegers,  their  hearts  sunk  within  them,  and  they 
opened  their  gates  in  despair. 

Amurath  I.,  the  successor  of  Orchan  (i  360-1 389), 
made  himself  master  of  the  greater  part  of  the  European 
possessions  of  the  Empire,  and  removed  his  capital  from 
Brusa  to  Adrianople.  From  this  time  until  the  defeat 
and  capture  of  Bajazet  by  Timour,  in  1402,  the  Greek 
Emperors  remained  the  humble  vassals  of  the  Turks. 

The  hour  of  doom  to  the  ancient  Empire  of  Constan- 
tinople, inevitable  though  long  delayed,  was  now  near 
at  hand.  The  time  had  come  when  the  last  mission  of 
that  Empire  could  be  performed.  With  all  their  feeble- 
ness, their  intellectual  stupor,  and  their  childish  super- 
stition, the  Greeks  still  preserved  in  all  their  perfection, 
for  a  fresher  soil  and  a  brighter  day,  the  ancient  lan- 
guage and  literature  of  their  race.  The  new  custodians 
of  this  priceless  treasure  were  now  ready  to  receive  their 
trust.  In  north-western  Italy  there  had  sprung  up  a 
cluster  of  little  commercial  republics,  foremost  among 
which  were  Pisa,  Genoa,  and  Florence.  Full  of  youth- 
ful vigor  and  enterprise,  tliese  little  states  grew  rich  and 


72  THE  BYZANTINE  EMPIRE, 

powerful,  and  gradually  drew  to  themselves  a  large  share 
of  the  ancient  trade  of  Constantinople.  With  this  traffic 
came  great  naval  power,  and  the  sudden  and  wonderful 
accumulation  of  wealth.  And  with  power,  wealth,  and 
the  energetic,  intense  activity  which  characterized  the 
people  of  these  sniall  but  glorious  republics,  there  soon 
came  also  increasing  civilization  and  refinement  and  an 
eager  thirst  for  knowledge.  About  the  middle  of  the 
fourteenth  century  appeared  the  two  immortal  Tuscans, 
Petrarch  and  Boccaccio,  the  splendid  first  fruits  of  the 
learning  and  letters  of  regenerated  Europe.  Until  that 
time  there  had  "been  very  few  men  in  all  the  nations 
of  Western  Europe  who  could  read  the  New  Testament 
in  the  original  Greek.  ^  This  long  reign  of  darkness  and 
ignorance  was  now  to  be  broken.  In  the  year  1 360,  Leo 
Pilatus  took  up  his  residence  at  Florence,  in  the  house 
of  Boccaccio,  and  became  the  first  teacher  of  Greek  in 
Italy ;  and  about  the  year  1400,  an  eminent  Greek 
named  Manuel  Chrysoloras  established  at  Florence  a 
school  for  teaching  the  language  and  literature  of  his 
native  land.  That  school  was  soon  crowded  by  the  gen- 
erous youth  of  Italy,  and  ere  long  the  new  learning  had 
taken  vigorous  root  in  this  fresh  and  fruitful  soil.  The 
mission  of  the  Greek  Empire  was  now  accomplished. 
It  had  faithfully  preserved,  and  safely  transmitted  to  the 
rising  civilization  of  modern  times,  the  inestimable  treas- 

*  "From  the  subversion  of  the  Western  Empire,  or  at  least  from  the 
time  when  Rome  ceased  to  pay  obedience  to  the  Exarchs  of  Ravenna,  the 
Greek  language  and  literature' had  been  almost  entirely  forgotten  within  the 
pale  of  the  Latin  Church.  .  .  .  For  the  scholars  of  Italy  Boccaccio 
positively  asserts  that  no  one  understood  so  much  as  the  Greek  character."— 
Hallam's  Middle  Ages,  p.  545. 


FALL  OF  CONSTANTINOPLE.  73 

tires  of  the  ancient  world.  Venerable  in  nothing  but 
age,  feeble  and  decrepit  with  the  burden  of  years,  it  was 
now  to  sink  into  the  grave. 

After  the  restoration  of  the  Ottoman  power,  in  141 3, 
the  great  ambition  of  the  Turkish  Sultans  was  the  cap- 
ture of  Constantinople  and  the  destruction  of  the  Greek 
Empire.  This  grand  enterprise  was  first  and  vainly 
attempted  by  Amurath  II.,  with  an  army  of  two  hundred 
thousand  men,  in  1422.  This  was  the  last  escape  of  the 
devoted  city.  Thirty  years  later  Mohammed  11.  repeated 
the  attempt  in  which  his  father  had  failed,  with  ampler 
resources  and  more  complete  preparation ;  and  in  the 
month  of  February,  1453,  the  final  siege  of  Constantino- 
ple was  formed. 

The  fall  of  the  city  was  not  without  dignity,  nor  alto- 
gether unworthy  of  its  ancient  fame.  Constantine  Pa- 
leologus,  the  last  of  the  Emperors,  was  a  brave  and  pat- 
riotic man,  and  worthy  of  a  happier  fate.  He  determined 
to  defend  the  city  to  the  last,  and  if  it  fell,  to  perish  be- 
neath its  ruins.  The  garrison,  made  up  largely  of  Latin 
auxiliaries,  seconded  his  valor  with  the  courage  of  de- 
spair, and  the  success  of  the  Turks  was  not  won  without 
a  tremendous  and  destructive  conflict.  But  as  the  siege 
progressed,  the  walls  crumbled  under  the  fire  of  the 
Turkish  artillery,  the  garrison  was  thinned  and  exhausted, 
and  it  was  evident  that  the  end  was  near.  The  final 
assault  was  made  on  the  29th  of  May.  After  a  short 
but  terrible  struggle,  the  Emperor  fell  bravely  fighting  in 
the  post  of  extremest  danger ;  the  Turks  surmounted  the 
walls,  and  the  ancient  Empire  of  the  East  was  no  more. 
Upon  the  terrible  scenes  which  followed — a  repetition  of 

4 


74  THE  BYZANTINE  E.dPIRE. 

the  horrors  endured  by  the  city  upon  its  first  fall  before 
the  arms  of  the  Crusaders — we  need  not  dwell.  Suffice  it 
to  say  that  the  city  was  abandoned  to  the  passions  of  the 
soldiery,  its  remaining  wealth  was  plundered,  and  vast 
multitudes  of  the  wretched  people,  after  suffering  every 
outrage  that  the  cruelty  of  their  captors  could  inflict, 
were  chained  together  in  droves  and  driven  to  a  distant 
and  hopeless  slavery.  When  the  Turks  departed  they 
left  behind  them  a  depopulated,  empty  city.  They  left, 
however,  soon  to  return,  to  make  Constantinople  the  capi- 
tal of  their  own  Empire,  and  the  seat  of  a  mightier  power 
than  any  which,  with  a  stable  and  enduring  dominion, 
had  for  centuries  swayed  the  destinies  of  the  East^ 

*  For  a  brief  account  of  the  fall  of  Constantinople,  and  the  events  foUofrvii 
b^  see  ^^Tlie  Arabs  and  the  Turks,"  chap*  «,  • 


PART    SECOND 


THE    MODERN    GREEKS   AND   THE 
ALBANIANS. 

The  Authorities  followed  are: 

Finlay's  History  of  Greece  under  Othoman  and  Venetian  Domination. 

Sir  James  Emerson  Tennent's  History  of  Modern  Greece. 

Stanley's  History  of  the  Eastern  Church. 

Creasy's  History  of  the  Ottoman  Turks. 

Urquhart's  Turkey  and  its  Resources. 

The  Travels  of  Macarius,  Patriarch  of  Antioch,  in  Asia  Minor,  Bulga- 
ria, Moldavia,  Wallachia,  and  Russia,  in  the  six  years  from  1653  to 
1659,  in  Nine  Parts,  written  by  his  son  and  attendant,  the  Archdea- 
con Paul  of  Aleppo,  and  translated  from  the  original  Arabic  by  F. 
C.  Belfour,  LL.D.,  for  the  Oriental  Translation  Fund  of  Great  Brit- 
ain and  Ireland. 

The  Works  of  Col.  William  Martin  Leake. 

The  eleven  volumes  of  Col.  Leake's  Researches  and  Travels  in  the  Mc 
rea,  Albania,  Northern  Greece,  Macedonia,  and  Asia  Minor,  are  an  over- 
flowing treasury  of  the  most  exact  and  valuable  information  upon  almost  al] 
points  relating  to  the  Greeks  of  both  ancient  and  modem  times. 


CHAPTER  I. 


THE  GREEKS  UNDER  THE  SULTANS. 

TRUE  CHARACTER  OF  THE  MODERN  GREEKS — GOV- 
ERNMENT OF  THE  EARLIER  SULTANS — REASONS 
FOR   THE    WILLING   SUBMISSION   OF  THE    GREEKS. 

As  we  enter  upon  this  second  period  of  our  history, 
we  are  met  by  a  very  important  question  which  has  been 
long  and  earnestly  discussed,  and  upon  which  much 
learning  and  abiUty  have  been  expended.  Who  and  what 
are  the  modern  Greeks ;  and  in  what  relation  do  they 
stand  to  the  imperial  race  of  the  ancient  world  whose 
name  they  bear  ?  Some  have  maintained  that  the  mod- 
ern Greeks  are  but  a  mongrel,  barbarian  race,  in  whose 
blood  so  many  and  so  various  foreign  elements  have  been 
mingled  that  their  true  Hellenic  character  has  been 
wholly  lost.  Others  insist,  and  with  better  reason,  that 
they  are  true  and  proper  Greeks,  who,  through  all  the 
vicissitudes  of  two  thousand  years,  have  preserved  their 
blood  and  their  national  existence  essentially  unmingled 
and  unchanged ;  that  they  are  the  lineal,  legitimate 
descendants  of  the  old  Hellenic  race.  The  question  seems 
now  to  have  been  satisfactorily  answered.  The  modern 
Gr.eek.  or  Romaic  language  bears  a  resemblance  to  the 


78  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

ancient  Greek  surprisingly  close  and  striking.  It  has 
been  affirmed  that  the  language  of  an  educated  Athenian 
of  the  present  day  does  not  differ  more  from  that  of  his 
ancestors  of  the  time  of  Pericles,  than  does  that  of  the 
New  Testament  writers.  It  should  be  observed,  however, 
that  the  educated  Greeks  are  now  making  a  strenuous 
effort  to  assimilate  their  language  to  the  classic  Greek. 
The  statement  above  referred  to  has  no  application  to  the 
spoken  language  of  the  people.  But  even  the  ordinary 
vernacular  of  the  common  people  seems  to  be  much  more 
like  the  ancient  Greek  than  Italian  is .  like  the  Latin. 
According  to  information  collected  three  hundred  years 
ago  from  prominent  Greeks,  by  Dr.  Martin  Kraus,  it 
appears,  that  although  some  seventy  dialects  of  Greek 
were  at  that  time  spoken  in  Greece  and  the  islands,  these 
were  all  so  much  alike  that  one  who  understood  one  of 
them  could  readily  understand  them  all,  while  in  some 
retired  localities  of  Thessaly  and  the  Morea  the  language 
was  still  spoken  in  what  to  the  educated  Greeks  of  that 
day  seemed  its  original  purity.^  But  the  true  Hellenism 
of  the  modern  Greeks  is  proved  most  conclusively,  not 
so  much  by  their  language  as  by  the  physical  and  mental 
peculiarities  which  have  universally  characterized  them 
as  a  race.  The  Greeks  of  seventy-five  years  ago,  under 
the  Turkish  Sultans,  except  that  they  were  far  more  igno- 
rant and  debased,  were,  in  every  feature  of  body  and 

^  Tennent's  Modern  Greece,  vol.  i.  p.  206.  For  a  full  and  critical  account 
of  the  Romaic  or  Modern  Greek  language,  see  Col.  Leake's  Researches  in 
Greece,  pp.  1-226 ;  see  also  Tennent,  chap.  xiii. ;  and  for  an  admirable 
account  of  the  language  as  it  is  now  spoken  and  written  in  Greece,  Feltoa's 
"Greece,  Ancient  and  Modem,"  vol.  ii.  pp.  501-10. 


THE  GREEKS  UNDER  THE  SULTANS,  99 

mind,  almost  the  exact  counterparts  of  their  ancestors  of 
seventeen  centuries  earHer,  under  the  Roman  Emperors. 
"  Were  there  wanting  any  more  convincing  proof  of  the 
genuineness  of  the  descent  of  the  modern  Greeks  from 
their  illustrious  ancestors,  than  that  they  speak  the  same 
language,  which  has  undergone  fewer  corruptions  than 
almost  any  other ;  that  they  employ  precisely  the  same 
characters  in  writing ;  that  they  call  places  by  the  same 
names ;  that  they  inhabit  the  same  spots ;  that  they  retain 
many  of  the  prejudices,  the  manners,  and  customs  that 
are  recorded  of  the  old  Greeks ;  we  say,  if  more  proof 
should  be  thought  wanting,  it  will  be  found  in  the  physi- 
cal aspect,  and  in  the  character  of  the  people.  The  same 
natural  quickness  of  intellect,  love  of  learning,  attachment 
to  country,  vivacity,  the  same  fickleness,  the  same  deceit, 
are  stamped  in  the  character  of  the  Greeks  of  to-day,  as 
they  were  in  the  minds  of  the  Greeks  of  the  older 
times."  ^  It  now  seems  to  be  fully  established  that  the 
modern  Greeks  are  the  lineal  descendants,  the  true  repre- 
sentatives of  the  ancient  Greeks;  that  they  have  not 
become  so  much  intermingled  with  foreign  elements  as  to 
change  essentially  their  national  character.  No  one  can 
carefully  follow  through  the  long  history  of  the  Byzantine 
Empire  without  being  struck  with  the  truth,  that  the 
Greeks  have  always  remained  as  completely  distinct  from 
the  various  peoples  with  which  they  were  mingled  and 
surrounded,  as  they  were  two  thousand  years  ago,  and  as 

^  Howe's  Greek  Revolution,  p.  1 7.  President  Felton,  than  whom,  per- 
haps,  no  higher  American  authority  on  this  question  could  be  cited,  held 
the  same  opinioi.  as  strongly  as  Dr.  Howe.  See  his  Lectures  on  Greece, 
Ancient  and  Modem,  vol.  ii.  pp.  313-4. 


8o  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

they  are  to-day.  The  population  of  Constantinople  in 
the  eighth,  ninth,  and  tenth  centuries  was  just  as  it  is 
now,  a  mixed  multitude  of  Greeks,  Slavonians,  and 
Asiatics.  But,  by  some  strange  law  of  Eastern  social  life, 
these  races  haA'e  always  remained  inveterately  distinct. 
The  several  types  of  national  character  among  the  Chris- 
tian peoples  remain  at  the  present  day  just  as  separate 
and  well-defined  as  they  were  a  thousand  years  ago.* 
Even  the  kindred  Bulgarians  and  Servians,  though  united 
in  the  same  church,  have  shown  little  tendency  to  coa- 
lesce. The  Epirot,  or  Albanian,  is  as  unlike  the  Greek 
as  his  fathers  were  in  the  time  of  Pyrrhus,  and  the  Greek 
has  always  been  entirely  distinct  from  them  all.  We  may 
well  inquire,  however,  what  has  become  of  that  numerous 
population,  sprung  from  the  original  inhabitants  of  the 
country,  which,  in  the  time  of  the  Iconoclast  Emperors, 
formed  probably  a  majority  of  the  people  of  central  and 
eastern  Asia  Minor,  and  which  were  a  race  entirely  dis- 
tinct from  both  the  Greeks  and  the  Armenians  ?  Almost 
alone,  of  all  the  peoples  which  have  had  an  existence 
during  the  past  fifteen  hundred  years  within  the  countries 
subdued  by  the  Turks,  this  race  has  disappeared.  The 
ancient  Lydians,  Phrygians,  and  Cappadocians  have  no 
modern  representatives.  The  race  which  furnished  to 
the  Byzantine  Empire  some  of  the  best  and  ablest  of  its 

^  "  How  strongly  difference  of  race  can  tell  under  identical  conditions  of 
climate,  religion  and  government,  is  exemplified  in  towns  where  Greeks 
have  been  dwelling  side  by  side  with  Bulgarians  for  centuries.  The  one  is 
commercial,  ingenious  and  eloquent,  but  fraudulent,  dirty  and  immoral ;  the 
other  is  agricultural,  stubborn  and  slow-tongued,  but  honest,  cleanly  and 
chaste."— Mackenzie  and  Irb/,  Travels  in  the  Slavonic  Provinces  of  Turkey 
in  Europe,  p.  23. 


THE  GREEKS  UNDER  THE  SULTANS.  8r 

sovereigns  has  wholly  passed  away.  The  history  of  its 
disappearance  is  a  sad  one.  It  was  in  great  measure 
exterminated  by  the  slave-hunting  inroads  of  the  Sara- 
cens, and  the  destructive  conquests  of  the  Tartars  and  the 
Turks.  The  poor  remains  of  this  once  vast  population, 
through  their  ever  deepening  hatred  of  Greek  rule,  were 
but  too  much  inclined  to  coalesce  with  their  conquerors. 
Great  numbers  of  them  embraced  Mohammedanism,  and 
were  thenceforth  known  as  Turks.  The  few  of  them  who 
still  held  fast  to  their  faith  after  the  Turkish  conquest 
would  seem  to  have  been  lost  in  the  growing  numbers  of 
the  Armenians ;  although,  possibly,  a  careful  examination 
might  still  discover  some  scattered  relics  of  this  once 
important  race  among  the  Christians  of  Asia  Minor. 

The  Greeks  now  boast  loudly  of  their  Hellenic  blood 
and  descent,  and  imagine  that  in  them  are  centered  all 
the  ancient  glories  of  their  race.  But  this  claim,  on  their 
part,  is  of  very  recent  date.  Until  the  great  awakening 
of  political  life  and  activity  among  them  a  hundred  years 
ago,  they  had  almost  forgotten  their  own  nationality. 
The  greatness  and  long  dominion  of  Rome  had  wholly 
eclipsed  in  their  minds  the  memory  of  the  earlier  and 
more  splendid  civilization  of  Greece.  They  never  called 
themselves  Hellenes  or  Greeks.  They  were  Romaioi  or 
Romans ;  their  language  was  Romaic,  and  the  fond  and 
constant  dream  of  their  ambition  was  the  restoration  of 
the  lost  Empire  of  Rome.  For  the  last  two  hundred 
years  before  the  conquest  of  Constantinople  by  the 
Turks,  all  that  remained  of  the  Empire  was  almost 
entirely  Greek.  But  this  Greek  Empire  was  one  of 
the   most   pitiful,  contemptible  tyrannies  that  ever  dis- 

4* 


82  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

graced  tlie  Christian  world.^  By  long  centuries  of  op- 
pression the  Greeks  had  been  thoroughly  enslaved. 
All  true  manliness,  all  patriotic  aspirations,  all  political 
virtue  and  honesty,  all  unselfish  devotion  to  the  pub- 
lic good,  seemed  to  have  been  banished  from  the  race. 
The  common  people  were  industrious,  frugal,  temper- 
ate, chaste;  but  they  had  no  higher  thought  than  de- 
votion to  their  orthodox  faith,  and  to  live  in  such  com- 
fort as  they  could  under  the  heavy  yoke  which  pressed, 
with  no  relief,  or  hope  of  relief,  upon  their  necks.  The 
higher  and  more  intelHgent  classes  were  wholly  unprin- 
cipled and  corrupt — the  willing  tools,  for  their  own  selfish 
ends,  of  any  tyrant,  the  terrible  oppressors  of  their  own 
people  whenever  they  had  the  power.  During  this  period 
the  Greeks  were  doomed  to  drink  the  cup  of  servitude 
to  its  last  and  bitterest  dregs.  The  government  of  the 
Emperors  was  bad  enough,  but  that  of  the  Venetians 
and  the  numerous  Italian  and  Prankish  despots,  who 
had  established  themselves  at  various  points  in  Greece 
proper  and  the  Islands,  was  in  most  cases  far  worse. 
These  latter  were  Roman  Catholics ;  and  to  a  tyranny 
no  less  grinding  thap  ihat  of  the  Greek  Emperors  they 
added  the  more  erne)  oppression  of  ecclesiastical  hatred 
and  religious  pe^^secution. 

With  the  fal^  of  Constantinople  and  the  conquests  of 
Mohammed  II.,  the  Greeks  as  a  nation  disappeared  from 

^"A  corrupt  aristocracy,  a  tyrannical  and  innumerable  clergy,  the  op- 
pression of  perverted  law,  the  exactions  of  a  despicable  government,  and 
still  more,  its  monopolies,  its  fiscality,  its  armies  of  tax  and  custom  col- 
lectors, left  the  degraded  people  neither  rights  nor  institutions,  neither 
chance  of  amelioration  nor  hope  of  redress." — Urquhart,  p.  19, 


THE  GREEKS  UNDER  THE  SULTANS,  83 

history.  Their  fall  was  most  ignoble,  without  one  re- 
deeming feature.  They  subsided  at  once  into  the  will- 
ing, unmurmuring  slaves  of  the  Sultans.  They  were 
still  industrious  and  thrifty,  and  their  diligence  was  one 
of  the  main  supports  of  Turkish  power ;  they  were  the 
best  sailors  in  the  Levant,  and  formed  the  bone  and 
sinew  of  the  mighty  naval  force  of  the  Sultans ;  but 
for  nearly  three  hundred  years  they  were  invested  with 
no  more  of  political  importance  than  the  cattle  they  fed 
or  they  ships  they  sailed.  At  the  great  battle  of  Le- 
panto,  in  1571,  forty  thousand  Greeks  were  serving  on 
board  the  two  contending  fleets.  But  they  were  there 
simply  by  a  tyrant's  will,  seemed  to  have  no  interest  in 
the  issue,  to  be  entitled  to  no  consideration  from  either 
of  the  contending  powers.  The  willing  submission  of  the 
Greeks  to  Turkish  rule  during  all  this  long  period,  while 
still  preserving  their  language,  their  nationality,  and  the 
vivid  remembrance  of  their  former  glories,  and  while 
rather  rising  than  sinking  in  the  social  scale,  is  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  phenomena  of  history.  The  gov- 
erment  treated  them  merely  with  the  toleration  of  con- 
tempt; they  were  rayahs  and  infidels,  a  subject  caste,  a 
class  of  slaves ;  they  paid  the  hated  kharatch  or  capita- 
tion tax,  the  conspicuous  and  ever-present  badge  of  their 
servitude,  for  every  male  above  the  age  of  ten  or  twelve 
years ;  they  paid  the  land  tax  of  the  Sultan's  tenths,  and 
all  the  endless  exactions  of  their  local  rulers ;  they  paid 
the  stranger,  the  more  inhuman  tax  of  every  fifth  male 
child  to  fill  the  ranks  of  the  janizaries  and  the  civil 
servants  of  the  Sultan ;  yet,  for  many  generations, 
even  the  Mohammedans  of  Asia  Minor  were  not  more 


S4  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

submissive  or  more  faithful  subjects  of  the  Porte  than 
the  Greeks. 

But  for  this  comparative  content  of  the  Greeks  under 
Turkish  rule,  there  were  some  very  substantial  rea- 
sons. In  the  first  place,  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  the 
Turkish  conquest  was  an  actual  benefit  to  the  Greeks, 
wrought  a  positive  improvement  in  their  condition. 
The  Turks  were  far  better  men,  and  far  abler  rulers 
than  the  wretched  tyrants  whom  they  superseded.  As 
a  rule,  they  were  grave,  serious,  honest,  and  straight- 
forward, while  their  vigor  and  energy  in  the  conduct  of 
affairs  made  them  the  wonder  of  the  world.  The  gov- 
ernment was  vigorous  and  well  sustained,  its  fiscal  ex- 
actions were  not  severe,  order  and  quiet  were  main- 
tained, Moslem  law  was  administered  with  tolerable 
impartiality,  and  the  Greeks  found  themselves  far  better 
off  than  they  had  been  before.  It  seems  to  be  con- 
ceded that  for  the  first  century  following  the  fall 
of  Constantinople,  the  Turkish  dominions  were  better 
governed  and  more  prosperous  than  most  parts  of 
Christian  Europe ;  that  the  people,  both  Mohamme- 
dan and  Christian,  enjoyed  a  larger  measure  of  private 
liberty  and  of  the  fruits  of  their  labor,  than  fell  to  the 
lot  of  their  contemporaries  under  the  -confused  and  too 
often  tyrannical  governments  of  the  West.  This  was 
owing,  in  some  degree,  to  the  fact  that  the  great  major- 
ity of  the  high  officials  of  the  Empire  were  men  of  Chris- 
tian birth.  They  had  been  drawn  from  the  ranks  of  the 
tribute  children,  and  carefully  educated,  and  thoroughly 
trained  for  the  posts  they  were  to  fill.  It  is  probable 
that  a  knowledge  of  the   honorable  service   to  which 


THE  GREEKS  UNDER  THE  SULTANS,  85 

the  children,  torn  from  them,  were  devoted,  in  both 
military  and  civil  life,  had  much  to  do  in  reconciling  the 
Greeks  to  this  cruel  and  unparalleled  tax.^ 

These  Christian  children,  derived  from  captives  and 
the  quadrennial  tribute,  were  the  strong  foundation  of  the 
Ottoman  power.  That  power  rested  on  no  popular  basis, 
was  not  the  supremacy  of  a  dominant  race.  It  was  the 
'despotic  rule  of  a  single  family,  resting  upon  a  powerful 
military  and  civil  force  of  household  servants,  absolutely 
devoted  to  the  person  of  the  Sultan.  The  tribute  chil- 
dren filled  the  ranks  of  the  janizaries  and  the  regular 
cavalry,  and  from  their  number  came  three  out  of  four, 
probably,  of  all  government  officials.  In  the  reigns  of 
Solyman  the  Magnificent  and  Selim  II.,  eight  out  of  ten 
Grand  Viziers,  twelve  of  their  ablest  generals,  and'  four 
admirals,  were  of  Christian  birth.^  **  Never  was  a  more 
perfect  instrument  of  despotism  created  by  the  hand  of 
man.  Affection  and  interest  alike  bound  the  tribute 
children  to  the  service  of  the  Sultan ;  no  ties  of  affection 
and  no  prejudices  of  rank  or  race  connected  them  with 
the  feudal  landed  interest,  or  with  the  oppressed  subjects 
of  the  Empire.  They  were  as  ready  to  strike  down  the 
proudest  descendant  of  the  Seljuk  emirs,  or  the  Arab  who 
boasted  of  his  purity  of  blood,  as  they  were  to  go  forth 
to  plunder  the  Christian  enemies  of  the  Sultan,  and  ex- 
tend the  domain  of  Mohammedanism.     The  Turks  formed 


*"It  is  said  that  there  was  seldom  need  to  employ  force  in  collecting 
the  requisite  number  of  suitable  children,  and  that  the  parents  were  eagpr 
to  obtain  the  enrollment  of  their  boys  in  the  list  of  janizary  recruits."— 
Creasy,  i.  p.  161^ 

■  Creasy,  i.  p.  175. 


86  THE  MODERN  GREEKS 

a  dominant  race  in  the  Ottoman  Empire,  but  the  tribute 
children  were  a  dominant  class  even  among  the  Turks."' 
To  this  iron  despotism  of  the  imperial  family,  the  great 
Mohammedan  feudatories  of  Asia  Minor  were  as  sternly 
subjected  as  the  Christian  peoples  of  the  European  prov- 
inces. The  ecclesiastico-judicial  posts  of  the  Ulema 
were  open  to  them,  as  to  all  educated  Mohammedans ; 
but  it  was  rare  indeed  that  one  of  them  was  intrusted 
with  any  other  important  civil  office,  or  with  high  mili- 
tary command.  In  the  long  decline  of  the  Empire  the 
great  mass  of  the  Moslem  population  have  been  even 
more  oppressed  than  their  Christian  fellow-subjects.^  Yel 
from  the  beginning  the  Turks  have  ever  stood  immovably 
loyal  to  their  Sultans,  revering  them  as  the  heads  of  theii 
faith,  the  vicegerents  of  God. 

But  the  vigor  and  stability  of  the  Ottoman  govern- 
ment were  not  owing  wholly  or  chiefly  to  the  ability  and 
training  of  these  Christian-born  officials.  These  officials 
were  but  servants  of  the  Turks,  and  by  Turkish  institu- 

'  Finlay,  p.  49.  "  Of  the  forty-eight  Grand  Viziers  who  succeeded  to  the 
office  after  the  conquest  of  Constantinople,  twelve  only  were  native  Turks. 
— Hammer,  viii.  421."    Id.,  p.  140. 

2  On  his  return  to  Antioch  in  1659,  Macarius  passed  through  Argosti,  a 
town  in  ancient  Pontus,  some  fifty  miles  north-east  from  Tocat.  Speaking 
of  the  condition  of  the  Christians  of  this  town,  Paul  of  Aleppo  observes; 
"  Concerning  their  political  condition,  we  were  told,  that  besides  the  Kha- 
radge  they  give  no  more  any  year  to  the  government  than  the  Moslems  do, 
and  that  the  Moslems,  at  every  period  of  time  that  a  newAga  comes  to  their 
from  Constantinople,  pay  him  each  person  a  Sanbadge  of  twenty  piastres, 
or  something  less ;  and  that  they  are  used  with  an  indescribable  degree  of 
tyranny ;  so  that  they  would  prefer  having  to  pay  tribute  as  Jews  or  Chris- 
tians,  rather  than  as  Mohammedans,  and  it  would  be  lighter  for  them."— 
Travels  of  Macarius,  ii.  p.  438.  See  also  Finlay,  p.  343,  and  Col.  Leake'l 
Tour  in  Asia  Minor,  p.  7. 


THE  GREEKS  UNDER  THE  SULTANS.  87 

tions  thev  were  made  all  that  they  became.  The  great- 
ness and  long-enduring  power  of  their  government  was 
the  proper  result  of  the  superior  quaHties,  not  military 
alone,  but  social,  intellectual,  and  moral,  of  the  Turks 
themselves.  Their  religion,  as  compared  with  the  childish 
superstition  of  the  Greeks,  was  a  living  and  earnest  faith, 
impelHng  them  to  the  zealous  performance  of  moral 
duties,  and  giving  tone  and  dignity  to  the  national  char- 
acter. In  education  and  intellectual  culture  the  Turks 
were  in  advance,  not  of  their  Christian  subjects  alone,  but 
of  the  greater  part  of  Christian  Europe.  The  members 
of  the  Ulima,  comprising  the  great  body  of  educated 
ecclesiastical  lawyers,  and  the  schoolmaster,  were  held  in 
high  honor.  Every  village  had  its  schools,  every  large 
town  had  its  medressehs  or  colleges,  in  which  were 
taught  the  ten  regular  courses  of  grammar,  syntax,  logic, 
metaphysics,  philology,  the  science  of  tropes^  the  science 
of  style,  rhetoric,  geometry,  and  astronomy.-^  Equally 
thorough  and  effective  was  their  practical  training  for  the 
duties  of  public  life.  For  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  the 
household  of  the  Sultan  was  a  great  and  admirable  school 
in  which  the  princes  of  the  blood,  a  great  nun?ber  of 
Turkish  youth,  and  a  multitude  of  the  more  promising 
tribute  children,  were  trained  together,  under  the  strictest 
discipline,  for  the  public  service  in  its  various  branches. 
The  same  thing  was  true  in  its  degree  of  the  household 
of  almost  every  great  Pasha  and  high  dignitary  of  the 
Empire.  '*The  Deftardar  (High  Treasurer),  Iskendcr 
Tchelebi,  who  was  put  to  death  in  the  year  1535,  had  up 
wards  of  six  thousands  slaves,  consisting  chiefly  of  cap 

*  Creasy,  i.  pp.  170-3. 


88  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

tives  torn  from  their  parents  at  an  early  age,  many  of 
whom  were  of  Greek  origin.  These  slaves  were  edu- 
cated in  his  household  in  a  manner  not  very  dissimilar  to 
that  adopted  in  the  serai  of  the  Sultan  for  the  tribute 
children.  The  greater  part  was  in  due  time  formed  into 
bodies  of  troops,  and  served  in  the  Ottoman  armies; 
many  received  a  learned  education,  and  were  trained  to 
enter  the  political  and  financial  departments  of  the  admin- 
istration. The  superiority  of  their  education  is  proved 
by  the  fact  that  when  they  passed  into  the  Sultan's 
household,  after  their  master's  execution,  several  rose  to 
the  highest  offices  of  the  state,  and  no  less  than  seven  of 
these  purchased  slaves  of  Iskender  Tchelebi  obtained 
the  rank  of  vizier."^ 

Another  point  in  the  training  of  the  Turks  which  must 
not  be  overlooked,  was  that  remarkable  domestic  and 
social  discipline,  which  down  to  the  beginning  of  the 
present  century  remained  so  universally  characteristic  of 
all  the  better  portions  of  Turkish  society — a  discipline 
which  formed  the  youthful  Turk  so  invariably  to  a  grave 
and  serious  dignity  of  demeanor,  to  quiet  self-command, 
and  to  such  imperturbable  composure  and  self-possession 
under  all  circumstances  however  trying.*  When  at  Yan- 
nina,  the  capital  of  Albania,  in  1809,  Mr.  Hobhouse  went 
to  visit  two  little  grandsons  of  the  famous  Ali  Pasha,  one 
of  them  twelve,  the  other  seven  years  of  age.  These  two 
boys  had  each  his  own  separate  establishment,  and  lived 


*  Finlay,  p.  54. 

•  "  I  am  not  surprised  at  anybody's  sympathy  with  the  Turks,  for  they 
and  the  Spaniards  are  still  in  manners  the  first  gentlemen  of  Europe. ** 
Correspondence  London  Times,  in  "  The  Mail,"  Dec  29,  1875. 


THE  GREEKS  UNDER  THE  SULTANS,  89 

in  his  own  house.  The  elder  of  the  two  Mr.  Hobhouse 
found  alone  with  his  tutor,  a  grave  and  reverend  Moslem, 
with  a  beard  flowing  low  upon  his  breast,  who  sat  com- 
posedly upon  his  marrowbones,  with  many  bows,  but 
saying  never  a  word.  But  not  so  the  young  prince,  who 
received  his  illustrious  visitor  with  a  lofty  courtesy,  ? 
gravity  and  dignity  of  deportment,  and  an  easy  self-pos' 
session  which  would  have  become  a  cabinet  minister,  a.nd 
which  filled  him  with  surprise.  After  doing  the  honors 
of  his  own  house  the  lad  attended  his  guest  on  a  visit  to 
his  brother.  In  this  child  of  seven  years  Mr.  Hobhouse 
found  hardly  less  of  sobriety,  dignity  of  demeanor,  cour- 
tesy, and  self-possession  than  had  been  displayed  by  his 
elder  brother.  Once  he  so  far  forgot  himself  as  to  show 
a  little  of  the  playfulness  of  childhood,  when  his  brother 
gravely  admonished  him,  saying,  "  Remember,  brother, 
that  there  are  strangers  present."  ^ 

Afterwards,  on  visiting  the  Pasha  of  Negropont,  at  the 
city  of  Egripo,  Mr.  Hobhouse  had  a  very  ludicrous  expe- 
rience, in  which  these  peculiar  characteristics  and  results 
of  the  social  discipline  of  the  Turks  are  no  less  strikingly 
displayed :  The  Pasha  "  then  asked  what  I  had  come  to 
see,  and  was  answered,  *The  town  and  its  situation, 
which  were  reported  to  be  very  beautiful,  and  also  the 
strait,  a  great  natural  curiosity.'  This  last  object  was  not 
clearly  understood ;  and  when,  as  an  explanation,  I  added 
that  it  was  the  stream  of  water  under  the  bridge  to  which 
I  alluded,  the  visages  of  all  in  the  room  put  on  an  air  of 
astonishment,  mixed  with  a  certain  smile  chastised  by  the 
gravity  of  their  looks,  altogether  indescribable ;  and  the 
■  Travels  in  Albania,  etc.,  i.  p.  60. 


90  THE  MODERf^  GREEKS, 

Vizier  (Pasha)  asked  me,  with  a  great  deal  of  naivel^, 
whether  I  had  no  water  of  that  sort  in  my  own  country, 
adding,  that  England  being,  as  he  heard,  an  island,  he 
should  have  thought  we  had  great  plenty.  I  endeavored 
to  inform  him  that  it  was  not  the  saltness  of  the  water  to 
which  I  alluded,  but  the  flux  and  reflux.  That  this  did 
not  serve  me  in  any  stead  was  evident  from  the  continued 
surprise  marked  in  the  faces  of  all  present;  but  his  High- 
ness assured  me  that  I  should  have  the  proper  attendance 
to  convey  me  to  the  bridge,  where  I  might  view  the  object 
of  my  journey.  .  .  .  Several  of  the  Pasha's  soldiers 
were  waiting  without  in  the  yard,  and  these,  preceded  by 
two  of  the  most  reverend-looking  personages  of  the  whole 
Court,  with  white  wands,  and  their  beards  hanging  down 
to  their  waists,  accompanied  me  in  a  sort  of  procession 
towards  the  bridge.  We  had  some  distance  to  walk,  the 
crowd  gathered  as  we  proceeded,  and  in  a  short  time  our 
train  filled  the  street.  We  walked  very  slowly,  the  two 
majestic  conductors  being  saluted  respectfully  by  fifty 
people,  and  very  leisurely  returning  the  salam  and  usuaJ 
obeisance.  The  passengers  and  surrounding  crowd  per- 
petually questioned  my  attendants  as  to  the  object  of 
the  procession,  and  were  told  that  a  Frank  was  going  to 
look  at  the  water.  I  could  hear  the  Turkish  words  sig 
nifying  '  water,  water,'  a  hundred  times  repeated.  I  ad- 
vanced to  the  bridge  with  all  my  suite,  went  half  way 
across  it,  and  looking  over  the  railings  for  half  a  minute, 
turned  round  to  one  of  the  grave  chamberlains,  and  said 
I  was  satisfied,  when  he  and  his  companion  bowed  pro- 
foundly, and,  without  saying  a  word,  turned  on  their  heels, 
and  marshaled  and  preceded  the  attendants  back  to  the 


THE  GREEKS  UNDER  THE  SULTANS.  9I 

house  where  I  had  left  my  horses,  a  great  crowd  follow- 
ing, as  before."^  These  solemn  and  stately  chamberlains 
were  true  Turks,  and  the  same  grave  and  courteous  dig- 
nity, the  same  composure,  the  same  quiet  self-possession 
and  self-command  which  they  displayed,  have  been  uni- 
versally characteristic  of  their  countrymen  for  four  hun- 
dred years.  Prof  Creasy  observes  that  the  Turks,  as  a 
people,  were  trained  to  dignity,  self-respect,  truthfulness, 
a  sense  of  justice,  sobriety,  cleanliness,  integrity,  and 
charity,  though  power  or  fanatic  war  often  transformed 
this  character  by  taking  off  the  restraint.^  These  facts 
must  be  well  considered  and  carefully  borne  in  mind,  if 
we  would  understand  the  willing  submission  of  the  Chris- 
tian peoples  to  their  Turkish  conquerors,  or  the  effects  of 
their  subjection  upon  themselves. 

We  must  also  remember  that  all  that  can  be  said  in 
favor  of  the  government  of  the  Sultans,  even  in  its  best 
days,  is  but  partial  and  comparative  praise.  After  all, 
that  government  was  but  a  rude  barbarian  despotism, 
based  upon  no  principle  of  justice  or  of  right.  As  com- 
pared with  the  Chris* 'an  governments  of  the  present  day, 
it  was  a  crushing,  relentless  tyranny.  The  life  and  fortune 
of  every  subject  were  absolutely  at  the  mercy  of  the  Sul- 
tan and  his  ministers.  Heads  were  struck  off  continually 
and  without  compunction ;  justice  was  venal  and  uncer- 
tain ;  against  the  rapacity  and  extortion  of  men  in  power 
there  was  no  safeguard  ;  Moslem  morality  was  not  Chris- 
tian morahty,  and  polygamy,  concubinage,  and  the  crime 
against  nature  spread  as  a  moral  leprosy  through  the 
whole  framework  of  Turkish   society.     The    Christians 

»  Id.,  i.  369-71.  *  Ottoman  Turks,  i.  177-8. 


92  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

were  a  subject  and  helpless  caste,  whose  very  existence 
was  at  the  mercy  of  their  conquerors. 

And  yet,  for  a  hundred  and  fifty  years,  with  all  its 
anomalies,  defects,  and  abuses,  the  Ottoman  Empire  was, 
for  the  times,  and  as  compared,  not  alone  with  the  wretch- 
ed tyrannies  which  it  had  superseded,  but  with  most  of 
the  nations  of  Christian  Europe,  a  well-ordered  and  pros- 
perous state.  The  hand  of  an  able  and  powerful  master 
was  felt  in  every  department  of  the  government,  in  every 
province  of  the  Empire.  The  local  governors  were,  as  a 
rule,  men  of  education,  ability,  and  character.  The  ex- 
actions of  the  government  were  comparatively  very  mod- 
erate, yet  so  carefully  were  its  revenues  collected  and 
husbanded  that  they  far  surpassed  those  of  any  other 
European  state.  "  It  was  this  financial  moderation, 
coming  as  a  relief  after  the  rapacity  of  the  Greek  Empe- 
rors, which  made  the  Greeks  hug  their  chains ;  and  it  forms 
a  strong  contrast  to  the  excessive  financial  burdens  and 
constant  interference  with  individual  liberty  which  char- 
acterize the  system  of  administration  in  modern  central- 
ized states."  ^ 

A  surprising  degree  of  quiet  and  good  order  were 
maintained  by  a  rude  but  vigorous  police  in  both  city 
and  country.  Crimes,  except  as  committed  by  lawless 
local  tyrants,  were  extremely  rare,  and  travelers  from 
the  west  were  surprised  to  find  wealthy  Turks  going  un- 
armed, yet  without  fear.  "  In  the  populous  cities  of  the 
Ottoman  Empire,  and  particularly  in  Constantinople, 
which  contained  more  inhabitants  than  any  three  Chris- 
tian capitals,  the  order  reigning  in  the  midst  of  social 
>  Finlay,  p.  39. 


"  THE  GREEKS  UNDER  THE  SULTANS,  93 

corruption,  caused  by  extreme  wealth,  the  conflux  of 
many  different  nations,  and  the  bigotry  of  several  hostile 
religions,  excited  the  wonder  and  admiration  of  every  ob- 
servant stranger."^  The  great  highways  of  the  Empire 
were  lined  with  massive  and  commodious  khans,  usually 
one  at  the  end  of  every  half  day's  journey,  while  the  num- 
ber of  these  costly  structures  in  the  great  cities  was  sur- 
prisingly large.  In  18 10,  Mr.  Hobhouse  found  three  hun- 
dred and  eighty  khans  in  Constantinople,  many  of  them 
very  fine ;  "so  many  immense  stone  barracks  or  closed 
squares,"  open  absolutely  to  all.«  Wise  and  liberal  trade 
regulations  filled  these  great  thoroughfares  with  the  steady 
currents  of  an  enormous  traffic.  The  fertile  plains  of 
Asia  Minor  and  Macedonia  became  the  granary  of 
Southern  Europe,  and  the  other  products  of  the  Empire, 
both  agricultural  and  manufactured,  were  largely  ex- 
ported. A  great  part  of  this  immense  commerce  soon 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Greeks,  who  thus  accumu- 
lated great  wealth.  The  middle  classes  of  the  towns 
were  industrious  and  thriving,  while  the  rayahs,  or  Chris- 
tian peasants  of  the  country,  depressed  as  was  their  social 
condition,  lived  in  comfort  and  plenty.  Mr.  Urquhart 
affirms  that  down  even  to  1833  there  was  no  peasantry 
in  the  world  so  well  housed,  clothed,  and  fed,  and  every 
way  so  comfortably  off,  as  the  Greeks,  and  more  especially 
the  Bulgarians  of  Macedonia  and  Bulgaria.^ 

In  1806,  Col.  Leake  visited  Serres,  the  capital  of  the 
dominions  of  Ismail  Bey,  in  the  large  and  fruitful  valley 

^  Id.,  p.  192.  '  Albania,  &c.,  ii.  p.  339. 

'  Turkey  and  its  Resources,  pp.  99-102.    To  the  same  effect,  see  Slade's 
Turkey,  ii.  p.  97. 


94  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

of  the  Strymon,  in  south-eastern  Macedonia.  He  there 
found  one  of  the  few  remaining  illustrations  of  what  must 
have  been  the  general  condition  of  the  Empire  two  hun- 
dred and  seventy-five  years  ago.  "The  surrounding 
plain  is  very  fertile,  and  besides  yielding  abundant  har- 
vests of  cotton,  wheat,  barley,  and  maize,  contains  exten- 
sive pastures  now  peopled  with  oxen,  horses,  and  sheep. 
No  part  of  the  land  is  neglected,  and  the  district,  in  its 
general  appearance,  is  not  inferior  to  any  part  of  Europe ; 
though  probably  neither  the  agricultural  economy,  nor 
the  condition  of  the  people,  would  bear  a  close  inspec- 
tion. ...  A  large  portion  of  that  part  (of  the  val- 
ley) which  is  in  the  district  of  Serres,  is  the  private  pro- 
perty of  Ismail  Bey  and  his  family,  one  of  the  richest 
and  most  powerful  subjects  of  the  Sultan,  if  he  can  be 
called  a  subject  who  is  absolute  here,  and  obeys  only 
such  of  the  orders  of  the  Porte  as  he  thinks  fit,  always, 
however,  with  a  great  show  of  submission.  Besides  his 
landed  property,  he  is  engaged  in  commerce,  and  derives 
great  profits  from  the  farm  of  the  imperial  revenues. 
.  .  .  When  he  builds  a  new  palace,  or  repairs  a  road, 
or  builds  a  bridge,  the  villages  furnish  the  materials  and 
labor,  so  that  his  household  and  troops  are  his  principal 
expenses.  Deficient  in  the  extraordinary  talents  of  Aly 
Pasha  (of  Albania),  he  is  said  to  be  free  from  his  cruelty, 
perfidy,  and  insatiable  rapacity.  Though  he  never  con- 
ceals his  contempt  of  Christians,  and  treats  them  with  the 
usual  harshness  of  the  most  haughty  Mussulman,  he  is 
spoken  of  by  the  Christians  themselves  as  a  just  and 
attentive  governor,  and  whose  extortions  are  compara- 
tively moderate.      Hence  his  territory  presents  a  more 


THE  GREEKS  UNDER  THE  SULTANS,  9$ 

prosperous  appearance  than  any  part  of  Aly  Pasha's. 
The  culture  of  cotton  being  very  advantageous  to  him, 
he  is  anxious  to  encourage  its  exportation,  in  which  he  is 
himself  engaged,' and  hence  the  Greek  merchants  of  Ser- 
res,  who  carry  on  an  extensive  trade  with  Vienna,  enjoy 
sufficient  protection,  though  personally  they  are  often  igno- 
miniously  treated  by  him.  As  to  the  rayahs  in  general,  it 
is  sufficient  to  mention  one  of  the  labors  and  exactions 
imposed  upon  them,  to  show  their  condition  even  under 
a  governor  who  has  the  reputation  of  being  indulgent. 
Every  village  is  bound  to  deliver  the  Bey's  tithe  of  the 
cotton  in  a  state  fit  for  immediate  exportation,  that  is  to 
say,  cleared  of  the  seeds  and  fiusks,  instead  of  supplying 
it  as  it  comes  from  the  field ;  and  even  to  make  good  the 
loss  of  weight  caused  by  the  abstraction  of  the  seeds,  by 
the  addition  of  an  equal  weight  of  cleared  cotton.  The 
Turks  justify  this  oppression  by  alleging  that  it  is  custom- 
ary in  all  cotton  districts ;  the  only  kind  of  answer  they 
ever  deign  to  give  when  they  are  the  strongest.  .  .  . 
The  Greek  community  is  governed  with  very  little  inter- 
ference from  the  Bey  by  the  Greek  metropolitan  bishop 
and  the  archons."  ^  Ismail  Bey  would  seem  to  have  be- 
longed to  the  famous  order  of  Dere  Beys,  or  local,  hered- 
itary, and  almost  independent  feudatories  of  the  Empire, 
so  important  in  the  last  century,  but  exterminated  by 
Mahmoud  II.  An  equally  pleasing  aspect  of  prosperity 
and  good  government  was  seen  at  the  same  time  in  the 
dominions  of  the  famous  Kara  Osman  Oglu,  another  of 
tlie  Dere  Beys,  and  perhaps  the  foremost  and  most  pow* 

*  Travds  in  Northern  Greece,  vol.  iii.  p.  201. 


96  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

erful  of  his  order.  The  capital  of  this  prince  was  at 
Magnesia,  forty  miles  north-east  from  Smyrna,  and  his 
ample  domains,  held  by  a  tenure  older  than  the  P^mpire 
itself,  formed  a  large  province  in  south-western  Asia  Minor. 
His  exactions  were  so  moderate,  his  government  so  mild 
and  equable,  and  his  people  so  prosperous,  that  for  the 
first  twenty  years  of  the  present  century  there  was  a  great 
and  constant  migration  to  his  dominions  from  almost  ^very 
part  of  Greece. 

The  considerable  measure  of  protection  and  prosperity 
enjoyed  by  the  Greeks  under  the  earlier  Sultans,  which 
caused  their  situation  to  be  envied  by  the  subjects  of 
some  of  the  neighboring  Christian  powers/  was  one  great 
reason  of  their  willing  and  cheerful  submission  to  their 
Turkish  conquerors.  Another,  and  perhaps  more  effect- 
ive reason,  was  the  ostentatious  patronage  extended  by 
.Mohammed  11.  to  their  national  Church.  They  had  been 
more  oppressed  and  more  bitterly  persecuted  by  the 
Roman  Catholics  of  the  West  than  by  the  Turks  them- 
selves. Mohammed  11. ,  with  all  his  brutal  ferocity,  was  a 
sagacious  and  far-seeing  statesman.  He  saw  very  clearly 
the  advantage  of  making  the  bitter  hatred  between  the 
Greek  and  Latin  Churches  subservient  to  his  own  pur- 
poses ;  of  rendering  the  Greek  hierarchy  a  servile  instru- 
ment of  his  power,  and  of  leaving  the  Greeks  behind  him, 
in  his  westward  progress,  contented  and  loyal  subjects, 
rather  than  secret   but  restless  and  dangerous  enemies. 

^  It  seems  to  be  generally  conceded  that  the  Hungarians  were  ready  to 
welcome  the  Turks  as  deliverers,  greatly  preferring  the  yoke  of  the  Sultans 
to  that  of  the  Germans  of  Vienna.  See  Creasy,  i.  p.  330.  **  The  Transyl- 
vanians  and  Hungarians  long  preferred  the  government  of  the  House  <^ 
Othman  to  that  of  the  House  of  Hapsburg." — Finlay,  p.  7. 


THE  GREEKS  UNDER  THE  SULTANS.  97 

He  accordingly  claimed  to  assume  the  same  relation  to 
the  Greek  Church  which  had  been  borne  by  the  Empe- 
rors before  him.  Calling  upon  the  Greek  prelates  to  elect 
a  Patriarch  in  due  form,  he  directed  that  he  should  be 
inaugurated  with  all  the  ancient  pomp  and  ceremony, 
bestowed  with  his  own  hand  the  insignia  of  his  office, 
gave  him  a  purse  of  a  thousand  golden  ducats,  and  a 
horse  with  gorgeous  trappings,  on  which  he  was  privi- 
leged to  ride  with  his  train  through  the  city,  assigned 
him  a  palace  for  his  residence,  and  made  him  an  acknowl- 
edged agent  of  his  government^  The  greatness  of  the 
Patriarch  was  by  no  means  an  empty  show.  He  was 
made  the  responsible  head  of  the  Greek  subjects  of  the 
Porte.  In  common  with  all  the  bishops  in  their  several 
provinces,  he  was  invested  with  judicial  powers  in  all 
causes  between  Greek  and  Greek,  extending  to  fines,  im- 
prisonment, and  sometimes  to  capital  punishment.  A  prison 
was  provided  for  his  use,  and  the  ministers  of  the  govern- 
ment were  directed  to  enforce  his  judgments.  This  policy 
of  the  Porte  was  completely  successful.  "The  Sultans 
never  involved  themselves  in  ecclesiastical  disputes.  .  .  . 
Theological  differences  and  church  government  only  inter- 
ested them  as  questions  of  public  order  and  police,  and 
personal  preferences  were  only  determined  by  pecuniary 
payments.  Hence  the  Greek  Church  was  for  a  long 
period  left  at  liberty  to  arrange  its  own  internal  affairs ; 
its  vices  and  its  virtues  were  the  spontaneous  efforts  of  its 
own  members ;  its  religious  action  was  rarely  interfered 
with,  so  that  it  must  bear  the  blame  if  morality  and  faith 
did  not  prosper  within  its  bosom."  ^     Nominally  the  Pa- 

*  Tennent,  i.  342.  *  Finlay,  162. 

5 


98  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

triarch  was  elected  by  the  Synod  of  the  Greek  Church ; 
but  in  reality,  with  every  bishop  in  the  Empire,  he  owed 
his  appointment  directly  to  the  rescript  of  the  Sultan. 
The  whole  hierarchy  thus  became  entirely  dependent 
upon  the  government,  its  devoted  servants,  too  often  the 
willing  and  rapacious  tools  of  its  tyrannical  power. 

Under  such  a  government  the  condition  of  the  Church 
was,  of  course,  precarious.  Great  dangers  sometimes 
threatened  it;  it  sometimes  suffered  great  oppression. 
The  fierce  and  bigoted  Selim  I.  seriously  contemplated 
the  extirpation  of  Christianity  from  his  dominions,  and 
actually  ordered  that  all  stone  churches  should  be  given 
up  to  the  faithful,  that  the  Christians  should  be  suffered 
to  worship  only  in  houses  of  wood.  But  these  outbursts 
were  infrequent  and  transient;  the  danger  was  most  com- 
monly averted  by  judicious  bribes.  For  a  very  long 
period  the  Greeks,  especially  the  higher  Greek  priest- 
hood, contemplated  their  ecclesiastical  condition  with 
great  satisfaction.  Under  the  protection  of  the  mighty 
Sultan,  the  cause  of  orthodoxy  reposed  in  perfect  safety 
from  the  hatred  and  tyranny  of  the  Papal  West,  They 
accounted  themselves  happy  in  their -servitude,  and  loudly 
extolled  the  tolerant  liberality  and  generous  protection  of 
their  Moslem  masters. 

Of  the  state  of  feeling  among  the  better  classes  of  the 
higher  Greek  priesthood  while  the  Empire  was  still 
powerful  and  prosperous,  Paul  of  Aleppo,  superstitious, 
and  somewhat  narrow-minded  and  bigoted,  but  simple, 
honest,  kindly,  gossipy,  shrewdly  observant,  and  labori- 
ously exact,  the  very  Herodotus  of  modern  travelers,  is 
an  excellent  example.     The  whole  tone  of  his  ponderoui 


THE  GREEKS  UNDER  THE  SULTANS.  99 

work  is  that  of  contented,  satisfied  loyalty.  There  is  no 
undercurrent,  no  indication  of  a  hidden  feeling,  of  disaf- 
fection, of  the  conscious  suffering  of  oppression  and  wrong, 
towards  the  government  of  the  Sultans.  He  follows  the 
imperial  highway  from  Aleppo  to  Constantinople  ;  notes 
the  populous  villages  and  plentiful  comfort  which  he  finds 
on  the  road ;  visits  Brusa  and  Constantinople,  and  is  filled 
with  admiration  at  their  magnificent  churches,  large  con- 
gregations, and  imposing  church  services;  speaks  with 
affectionate  loyalty  of  Mohammed  IV.,  the  reigning  Sul- 
tan, prays  for  his  long  life  and  prosperity,  and  relates 
with  grateful  interest  that  the  year  before  he  had  pitched 
his  tent  that  he  might  observe  the  Easter  festivities  of  his 
Greek  subjects ; — in  short,  he  tells  his  story  throughout 
as  if  he  had  no  other  thought  than  that  the  Greek  churches 
were  enjoying  the  fullness  of  peace  and  prosperity,  subject 
to  no  tyrannical  yoke,  to  no  oppressive  burden."* 

The  visit  of  Macarius  to  Moscow  was  just  at  the  time 
when  the  Cossacks  and  Russians  were  freeing  themselves 
from  the  terrible  tyranny  of  the  Poles.  The  sight  of  the 
murderous  atrocities  inflicted  by  the  Poles  upon  the  Cos- 
sacks, his  fellow- Christians  of  the  Greek  Church,  filled 
our  writer  with  the  fiercest  indignation,  and  caused  him 
to  break  forth  in  language  which  displays  at  once  the 
strength  of  his  antipathy  against  the  heretics  of  the  West 
and  his  grateful  sense  of  the  security  enjoyed  by  the  Or- 
thodox Church  of  the  East  under  the  tolerant  protection 
of  Turkish  power.  ''We  all  wept  much  over  the  thou- 
sands of  martyrs  who  were  killed  by  those  impious 
wretches,  the  enemies  of  the  faith,  in  these  forty  01  fifty 
*  Travels  of  Macarius,  book  i. 


100  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

• 

tX)wns.      The  number  probably  amounted  to  seventy  or 
eighty  thousand  souls.     O  you  infidels  !    O  you  monsters 
of  impurity  !     O  you  hearts  of  stone  !    What  had  the  nuns 
and  women  done  ?      What  the  girls  and  boys  and  infant 
children,  that  you  should  murder  them  ? "     "And  why 
do  I  pronounce    them  (the   Poles)  accursed  ?     Because 
they  have  shown  themselves  more  debased  and  wicked ' 
than    the    corrupt   worshipers  of    idols,   by  their   cruel 
treatment    to  Christians,  thinking    to   abolish  the  very 
name  of  Orthodox.      God  perpetuate  the  Empire  of  the 
Turks  forever  and  ever  I     For  they  take  4heir  impost, 
and  enter  into  no  account  of  religion,  be  their  subjects 
Christians  or  Nazarenes,  Jews   or  Samarians:   whereas 
these  accursed  Poles  were  not  content  with  taxes  and 
tithes  from  the  brethren  of  Christ,  though  willing  to  serve 
them;  but  according  to  the  true  relation  we  shall  after- 
wards give  of  their  history,  they  subjected  them  to  the 
authority  of  the  enemies  of  Christ,  the  tyrannical  Jews, 
who  did  not  even   permit  them  to   build  churches,  nor 
leave  them  any  priests  that  knew  the  mysteries  of  their 
faith."  ^    This  was  the  feeling  of  the  great  majority  of  the 
higher  orders  of  the  Greek  clergy,   and  probably,  to  a 
considerable  extent,  of  the  Greek  people  also,  down  al- 
most to  the  present  century.     Partly  from  conviction  and 
a  sense  of  security  and  protection,  partly  from  interested 
and  mercenary  motives,  the  members  of  the  priestly  hier- 
archy were  not  only  loyal  subjects  but  zealous  support- 
ers  of  the   Turkish    government.     "Their  instructions 
were  to  preach  to  their  flocks  interminable  hatred  to  the 
Latins,  and  due  submission  to  the  Divan,  as  gentle  mas- 
*  Id.,  vol.  i.  pp.  183, 165. 


THE  GREEKS  UNDER  THE  SULTANS.  loi 

ters,  who  exacted  from  them  no  military  service,'  ana  for 
whose  occasional  acts  of  tyranny  they  were  bound  to 
feel  grateful  to  Heaven,  as  entitling  them  to  that  ultimate 
comfort  which  is  promised  to  all  who  mourn.  "  ^ 

^  Tennent  ii.  p.  55.  "Had  Mohammed  II.  treated  Greece  as  Ferdi- 
nand and  Isabella  treated  Grenada,  Turks,  Slavonians,  Wallachians,  and 
Albanians  would  have  instantly  occupied  the  country.  But  the  conqueror 
chose  a  nobler  and  a  wiser  course ;  .  .  .  without  fear,  he  gave  them  a 
new  centre  of  nationality,  by  restoring  the  Orthodox  Patriarchate  of  Constan- 
tinople. .  .  .  The  boon  thus  voluntarily  conferred  on  the  Greek  nation 
enlisted  the  prejudice  and  bigotry  of  the  people  in  the  cause  of  the  Sultan's 
government.  He  was  accepted  as  the  temporal  head  of  the  Orthodox  Church 
because  he  was  regarded  as  its  protector  against  Catholicism.  By  this  in- 
sidious gift  the  Sultan  purchased  the  subservience  of  the  Greeks,  and  for  the 
two  succeeding  centuries  his  successors  were  the  acknowledged  defenders 
of  the  orthodox  against  the  pretensions  of  the  Pope.  .  .  .  Not  only  was 
he  Christian  treated  with  more  humanity  in  Mussulman  countries  than  the 
Mohammedans  were  treated  in  Christian  lands ;  even  the  Orthodox  Greek 
m?t  with  more  toleration  from  Mussulmans  than  from  Catholics;  and  the 
knowledge  of  this  difference  formed  one  strong  reason  for  the  preference 
with  which  the  Greeks  clung  to  the  government  of  the  Ottoman  Sultans  in 
their  wars  with  the  Christian  powers  for  more  than  two  centuries." — I  in- 
ky, p.  152. 


CHAPTER  II. 


GOOD  AND  3AD  QUALITIES  OF  THE  GREEKS — THEIR 
POLITICAL  REGENERATION — POPULATION  OF  EU- 
ROPEAN TURKEY,  AND  THE  DISTRIBUTION  OF  ITS 
SEVERAL   CLASSES   AND    RACES. 

The  modern  Greeks  have  never  been  favorites  with 
the  Christians  of  the  West.  The  old  antipathy  between 
the  Greek  and  Latin  Churches  has  been  a  heritage  too 
well  preserved,  even  among  the  Protestants  of  England 
and  America.^  None  could  doubt  the  inestimable  value 
of  the  services  rendered  by  the  Greeks  in  the  fifteenth 
century  to  the  rising  civilization  of  the  West.  None  at 
all  familiar  with  the  facts  in  the  case  could"  overlook  the 
remarkable  qualities  which  have  always  characterized 
them  as  a  race — their  tough,  long  enduring,  indestructi- 
ble national  spirit ;  their  intellectual  quickness  and  versa- 

^  "  The  schisr:  between  the  Eastern  and  Western  Churches,  the  rivalry 
between  the  Eastern  and  Western  Empires,  had  wrought  a  lasting  effect  on 
the  minds  of  many  who  had  never  heard  of  either  Church,  or  either  Empire. 
A  kind  of  dislike  or  contempt  towards  the  Christian  nations  of  the  East 
had  been  fostered  for  ages  in  the  minds  of  the  Christian  nations  of  the 
West.  The  *  Greek  of  the  Lower  Empire '  was  held  up  to  scorn  as  the 
type  of  everything  that  was  vile,  and  the  modern  Greek  was  held  to  be,  if 
anything,  a  little  viler  than  his  Byzantine  forefather." — Edward  A.  Free- 
man, on  «*The  True  Eastern  Question,"  Littell's  Living  Age,  Jan.  8^ 
1876,  p.  68. 


POLITICAL  REGENERATION.  l<^ 

tility ;  their  love  of  learning ;  their  vivacity  and  cheerful- 
ness under  the  most  depressing  social  conditions;  their 
patient  industry  and  irrepressible  commercial  enterprise ; 
their  astonishing  aptitude  and  ability  in  the  conduct  of 
every  form  of  business ;  their  intense  love  for  their  native 
land;  or  their  undying,  unconquerable  faith  in  their 
national  destiny.  Those  who  knew  them  best  were  also 
aware  that  the  great  mass  of  simple,  home-keeping  Greeks 
had  always  been  marked  by  a  very  high  degree  of  honesty 
and  social  virtue  ;  that  vices  and  crimes  were  almost 
unknown  among  them  ;*  that  the  simple  village  elders 
who  apportioned  the  taxes  and  had  charge  of  the  finances 
of  the  little  communities  were  almost  always  faithful  to 
their  trust;  that  even  the  Turks  could  trust  the  Greek 
peasants  to  pay  their  taxes  in  kind.  And  while  the 
Greek  merchant,  schooled  to  craft  and  bribery  in  his 
dealings  with  corrupt  and  rapacious  Turkish  officials,  was 
too  often  looked  upon  throughout  Europe  as  an  adept  in 
every  form  of  knavish  chicanery,  it  was  known  that  at 
home  the  little  manufacturing  and  mercantile  communi- 
ties of  the  Greeks  were  generally  characterized  by  a 
degree  of  probity  and  mutual  fidelity  which  has  never 
been  surpassed.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  last  century, 
the  manufacturers  (embracing  the  whole  body  of  the 
people)  of  the  little  village  of  Ambelakia,  in  north-eastern 
Thessaly,  and  the  merchants  (Albanian   Greeks)  of  the 

^  In  European  Turkey,  excepting  the  ruder  tribes,  the  Armatoli,  and  in 
general  all  pistol  wearers,  **  crimes  are  unheard  of,  save  amongst  those 
whose  office  is  the  preservation  of  order ;  and  the  most  remarkable  industry 
and  frugality,  I  will  not  say  characterize  the  body  of  the  nation,  but  form 
the  essential  features  of  each  individual  disposition," — through  the  despotic 
power  of  public  opinion  in  the  little  Greek  municipalities. — Urquhart,  p.  ^ 


I04  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

small  island  of  Hydra — two  communities  a\  hich  may  be 
taken  as  examples  of  many  others — taking  advantage  of 
the  peculiar  circumstances  of  the  times,  built  up  with 
wonderful  skill  and  rapidity  a  vast  system  of  business 
operations  which  brought  them  sudden  and  enormous 
wealth.  Yet  these  immense  transactions  were  conducted 
by  these  simple  people  without  law  or  judge,  without 
bond,  receipt,  or  note,  and  for  years  neither  fraud  nor 
bankruptcy  was  known  among  them.^  In  a  word,  the 
best  authorities  are  unanimous  in  their  testimony  that  the 
laboring,  home-keeping  classes  of  the  Greeks,  forming 
the  great  majority  of  the  nation,  from  the  Turkish  con- 
quest to  the  present  time  have  been  generally  character- 
ized by  industry,  honesty,  sobriety,  and  domestic  virtue. 
But  in  the  obscure  and  isolated  condition  of  the 
Greeks,  these  better  qualities  of  the  national  character 
were  comparatively  hidden  and  unknown,  while  they 
were  attended  and  overshadowed  by  others  far  more  con- 
spicuous, and  too  often  repulsive.     As  a  race,  the  Greeks 

^  Id.,  pp.  47-52,  55,  56.  An  English  reviewer  cites  the  following  testi- 
mony of  a  Scotch  gentleman,  who,  in  the  triple  character  of  soldier,  lawyer, 
and  professor,  had  lived  long  among  the  Greeks  and  knew  them  well: 
"The  Fanariots  .  .  .  were  the  most  cultivated,  but  also  the  most 
intriguing ;  the  grocers  were  grinding  and  avaricious ;  the  military  chiefs 
ferocious  and  depraved ;  the  bishops,  who  in  former  times  were  almost  all 
Fanariots,  partook  of  the  virtues  and  vices  of  that  class ;  the  peasants  were 
honest  and  simple ;  so,  in  a  measure,  were  the  feudal  proprietors  and  the 
married  parochial  clergy ;  so  in  aa  eminent  degree  were  the  Hydriot  mer- 
chants. During  their  long  period  of  carrying  trade  it  is  said  that  they  never 
kept  accounts,  and  never  broke  their  word.  Masses  of  specie  were  trans- 
ported from  island  to  island  in  the  girdles  of  sailors,  or  poured  out  on  the 
tables  of  the  cabins,  and  then  loosely  tied  up  in  a  bag  with  a  ship-rope ; 
and  in  their  dealings  they  shrank  from  ever  adding  an  oath  to  their  worcL"-~ 
London  Quarterly  Review  for  April,  1869,  p.  256. 


POLITICAL  REGENERATION.  105 

were  blustering,  fickle,  and  immeasurably  vain,  inclined 
to  be  envious,  jealous,  and  factious,^  while  in  the  higher 
and  more  intelligent  classes,  long  ages  of  oppression  had 
developed  all  the  vices  of  slaves.  The  prelates,  primates, 
tax-gatherers — all,  in  short,  whose  position  brought  them 
into  direct  dependence  upon  Turkish  officials,  were  too 
generally  selfish,  rapacious,  and  corrupt  to  the  last  de- 
gree. "  The  governing  class,  in  the  ecclesiastical  estab- 
lishment, was  selected  from  the  aristocratic  element,  and 
no  more  selfish  and  degraded  class  of  men  has  ever  held 
power,  than  the  archonts  of  modern  Greece  and  the 
Fanariots  of  Constantinople."  ^ 

These  things  were  open  to  the  eyes  of  the 'world. 
All  men  saw  them,  and  were  disgusted  with  them.  All 
the  great  services,  all  the  better  qualities  of  the  Greeks, 
were  forgotten  or  unknown ;  these  vices  of  a  notorious 
class  were  charged  upon  the  whole  people,  and  for  them, 
most  unjustly,  the  Greeks,  as  a  race,  were  despised.  In 
the  eloquent  language  of  President  Felton,  "  For  the 
second  time  in  the  history  of  civilization,  the  arts  and 

^  This  envious,  quarrelsome  disposition  has  been  everywhere  the  bane  of 
Greek  society.  Ambelakia,  referred  to  above,  is  one  of  the  twenty-four 
villages  of  Mount  Pelion,  the  ancient  Magnesia,  in  south-eastern  Thessaly. 
The  people  of  this  district,  secure  in  their  mountain  fastnesses,  have  been 
for  many  generations  perhaps  the  freest  and  most  prosperous  section  of  the 
continental  Greeks.  *'  But  they  make  a  foolish  use  of  their  advantages. 
Internal  discord  divides  every  village  into  parties ;  a  similar  jealousy  pre- 
vails between  the  principal  towns,  and  each  of  them  strives  by  bribery, 
intrigue,  and  the  interest  of  their  patrons  at  Constantinople,  to  injure  its 
particular  rival  or  adversary.  The  Turks  are,  of  course,  enriched,  and  the 
Greeks  impoverished  by  these  quarrels." — Col.  Leake's  Ti-avels  in  North 
ern  Greece,  iv.  390. 

2  Finlay,  p.  178. 


io6  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

letters  that  embellish  life  were  scattered  by  the  Greeks 
over  the  world,  after  a  tremendous  national  catastrophe ; 
and  for  the  second  time  the  recipient  world,  having 
eagerly  availed  itself  of  the  proffered  benefactions,  re- 
quited the  unfortunate  race  from  which  the  benefac- 
tions came,  with  the  most  unmeasured  denunciations, 
insomuch  that  the  very  name  of  Greek  became  synony- 
mous with  all  that  is  mean,  treacherous,  and  false."  ^ 

The  progress  of  the  Greeks  for  the  past  fifty  years 
has  not  been  such  as  greatly  to  encourage  their  friends, 
or  to  awaken  any  public  enthusiasm  in  their  behalf.  Few 
truly  great  and  noble  characters  have  been  produced 
among  them.  Their  independent  government  has  seemed 
to  many  observers  a  miserable  failure.  Their  public  men 
have  been  pronounced  selfish  and  venal.  Their  religion 
is  still  but  a  childish  superstition,  a  bigoted  devotion  to 
ceremonies  and  empty  forms.  With  all  their  schools, 
intense  and  widespread  as  has  been  their  eagerness  for 
learning,  their  mental  activity  has  borne  little  practical 
fruit.  It  has  seemed  as  if  education  only  served  to  de- 
stroy all  taste  for  honest  industry,  to  produce  a  narrow, 
selfish  thirst  for  office  and  power.  Seeing  these  things, 
many  very  intelligent  men  have  been  inclined  to  pro- 
nounce the  Greeks  a  childish,  selfish,  and  conceited  race, 
wholly  incapable  of  any  really  high  and  honorable  na- 
tional, career.  But  any  such  judgment  is  hasty  and  very 
wide  of  the  truth.  These  discouraging  facts  are  only 
upon  the  surface.  They  merely  indicate  that  the  Greeks 
are,  as  yet,  in  the  childhood  of  their  political  develop- 
ment;   that  they  have  not  yet  had  time  to  outgrow  the 

*  Greece,  Ancient  and  Modern,  ii.  p.  390.. 


POLITICAL  REGENERATION  107 

enormous  evils  entailed  upon  them  by  ages  of  servitude; 
that  the  great  mass  of  the  common  people,  in  whom,  for 
centuries,  has  been  the  real  life  and  hope  of  the  nation, 
has  thus  far  been  too  poor,  too  ignorant,  too  destitute  of 
social  organization,  and  too  little  schooled  for  political 
action,  to  make  its  influence  decisively  felt;  and  that 
hitherto  the  predominant  element  in  their  social  and 
political  life  has  been  the  old  corrupt,  aristocratic  class, 
formed  under  the  Turkish  regime.  If  we  look  beneath 
the  surface,  to  those  slow  and  quiet  movements  on  which 
the  progress  of  society  and  the  destinies  of  nations  really 
depend — movements  mighty  and  irresistible  in  the  end,  but 
which  often  pursue  their  course  for  years  and  generations 
with  little  display  of  their  power ;  which  lie,  it  may  be, 
almost  hidden  from  the  hasty  glance  of  the  superficial 
observer — we  shall  find  abundant  reason  for  a  much  more 
hopeful  view. 

Pitiful  as  has  been  the  figure  made  by  their  indepen- 
dent government,  the  progress  of  the  Greeks  as  a  people 
during  the  past  century  has  been  rapid  and  immense.  A 
hundred  and  twenty-five  years  ago  the  nation  was  made  up 
of  two  widely  dissimilar  sections.  On  the  one  hand  was 
what  we  may  call,  though  not  very  correctly,  the  aristo- 
cratic party,  embracing  the  prelates,  monks,  primates,  tax- 
gatherers — all,  in  short,  who  were  devoted  to  Turkish 
interests,  and  seeking  for  wealth,  place,  or  power  in  con- 
nection with  the  government.  The  men  of  this  class 
were  comparatively  intelligent  and  wealthy ;  they  were 
active,  ambitious,  and  pushing.  There  were  among  them 
a  few  virtuous  and  worthy  men,  but  as  a  rule  they  were 
thoroughly  selfish,   dishonest,   and   corrupt,  schooled  to 


lo8  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

every  form  of  craft,  intrigue,  and  bribery,  and  too  often 
worse  and  more  rapacious  tyrants  to  their  own  people 
than  the  Turks  themselves.  On  the  other  hand  were  the 
hard-working  common  people,  constituting  the  vast  ma- 
jority of  the  nation ; — a  simple  peasantry,  industrious, 
frugal,  sober,  honest,  and  chaste,  but  steeped  in  poverty 
and  ignorance,  shut  up  in  their  little  communities,  cut  off 
from  all  political  knowledge  and  activity,  knowing  nothing 
of  the  outside  world,  and  accustomed  to  bow  submissively 
to  a  tyrant's  nod. 

With  the  great  changes  of  the  past  hundred  years, 
more  especially  of  the  past  fifty  years,  both  these  classes 
are  becoming  slowly  but  completely  transformed.  In  in- 
dependent Greece  the  old  Turkish  aristocracy  disappeared 
with  the  Revolution.  Many  of  its  members  had  died, 
and  their  places  were  taken  by  new  and  younger  men. 
Of  those  who  still  survived,  many  became  prominent 
under  the  new  order  of  things ;  and  although  the  Ethio- 
pean  could  not  change  his  skin,  and  in  moral  character 
they  were  much  the  same  as  before,-  In  the  total  change  in 
their  circumstances  and  relations  they  became  at  one* 
very  different  men.  They  were  no  longer  slaves  of  the 
Porte;  they  were  free  citizens  of  independent  Greece; 
and,  whatever  their  faults  or  their  vices,  they  were  filled 
with  Intensest  love  for  their  native  land.  They  might 
have  little  political  integrity,  might  not  be  superior  to  a 
bribe,  might  be  intriguing  and  self-seeking,  but  they  loved 
their  country,  and,  after  their  own  selfish  interests,  were 
willing  to  labor  for  its  good.  Many  of  these  very  met 
thus  filled  their  positions  under  the  new  order  of  things^ 
as  bishof  s,  cabinet  ministers,  governors,  legislators,  and 


POLITICAL  REGENERATION'.  109 

judges,  with  a  fair  degree  of  diligence  and  success.  Much 
of  the  old  leaven  still  remains ;  but  better  influences  are 
steadily  gaining  strength,  and  the  time  is  soon  coming 
when  there  will  be  needed  only  the  balance-wheel  of  an 
intelligent  and  powerful  public  sentiment  to  make  the 
public  men  of  Greece  as  honest  and  faithful  as  those  of 
other  Christian  nations. 

But,  important  as  is  the  change  which  has  taken  place 
in  the  higher  classes  of  the  Greeks,  a  yet  greater  trans- 
formation is  going  forward  in  the  ignorant  and  oppressed 
peasantry,  who  form  the  large  majority  of  the  nation. 
They  have  become  fired  with  an  eager  thirst  for  knowl- 
edge. Their  old  lethargy  and  ignorance  are  giving  place 
to  activity  and  intelligence ;  not  the  intelligence  of  school- 
books  and  newspapers  alone,  but  that  political  intelli- 
gence which  prepares  men  to  perform  wisely  and  success- 
fully the  duties  of  citizens  in  a  free  commonwealth.  As 
needs  must  be,  this  great  change  is  very  slow.  The  habits 
of  ages  are  not  overcome  in  a  day.  Even  now  it  is  only 
in  its  earlier  stages.  The  Greek  peasantry  are  still  igno- 
rant and  oppressed.  They  still  lack  that  political  intelli- 
gence which  would  enable  them  to  provide  effectually  for 
the  public  good,  to  compel  their  government  to  be  hon- 
est and  just.  But,  though  slow,  it  is  steady  and  sure. 
Considering  their  unfortunate  circumstances,  their  pro- 
gress and  improvement,  even  within  the  past  thirty  years, 
can  only  fill  us  with  surprise.  However  slowly,  the 
Greeks  are  surely  rising  to  a  position  of  manly  and  intel- 
ligent freedom.  The  old  burdens  which  have  so  long 
oppressed  them  will  be  thrown  off;  the  shackles  which 
have  so  long  bound  them  will  be  broken ;  their  narrow- 


no  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

ness  and  bigotry  will  broaden  into  an  intelligent  liberality 
of  sentiment ;  rising  above  their  present  childish  super* 
stition,  their  minds  will  become  freely  open  to  the  truth, 
to  the  teachings  of  a  purer  Christianity;  the  grievous 
faults  of  their  national  character  will  be  chastened  and 
corrected ;  and  they  will  yet  take  that  high  place  to 
which  their  great  qualides  as  a  race  so  clearly  entitle 
them,  among  the  free  and  Christian  nations  of  the  earth. 
Just  as  surely  as  we  believe  in  the  inherent  progt^ssive- 
HQss  of  human  society ;  just  as  surely  as  we  believe  in  the 
wise  and  all-controlling  providence  of  the  God  who  made 
man  in  his  own  image ;  so  surely  may  we  beheve  that 
the  Greeks  are  yet  to  fulfill  a  grand  and  worthy  destiny 
as  a  nation,  that  they  shall  yet  rival  and  repeat  the  ancient 
glories  of  their  race. 

The  movements  which,  so  slowly,  yet  so  steadily  and 
surely,  are  carrying  the  Greeks  onward  to  the  high  posi- 
tion they  are  one  day  to  occupy,  date  back  to  the  Turk- 
ish conquest.  Such  a  brief  survey  of  the  history  of  the 
Greeks  from  that  great  event  to  the  present  time  as  will 
enable  us  to  trace  these  movements  in  their  origin,  their 
working,  and  their  results,  will  be  the  purpose  of  the  fol- 
lowing pages. 

Paradoxical  as  the  statement  may  appear  to  those  not 
familiar  with  the  subject,  it  is  none  the  less  true  that  the 
Turkish  conquest  wrought  a  grand  and  permanent  en- 
franchisement for  the  Greek  nation — was  to  them  the 
birthday  of  a  regenerated  political  life.  This  great  revo- 
lution in  their  political  and  social  condition  effected  for 
the  Greeks,  by  a  slower  process  and  in  remoter  conse- 
quences, all  that  the  French  Revolution  accomplished  for 


POLITICAL  REGENERATION,  ill 

the  oppressed  peasantry  of  France.  It  swept  away  all 
castes,  classes,  privileges,  distinctions,  and  left  the  whole 
nation  on  a  footing  of  absolute  equality.  It  seemed  to 
make  them  slaves,  bowed  them  by  sheerest  force  under  a 
heavy  and  tyrannical  yoke ;  but  there  was  a  deeper  sense 
in  which,  in  their  narrow  and  lowly  sphere,  under  the 
overarching  firmament  of  Turkish  power  and  oppression, 
they  Avere  left  almost  perfectly  free.  "The  Ottoman 
government,  though  in  some  respects  the  most  tyrannical 
in  Europe,  was  in  others  the  most  tolerant.  It  fettered 
the  body,  but  it  left  the  mind  free.  The  lower  orders  of 
its  Christian  subjects  were  in  general  possessed  of  more 
intellectual  cultivation  than  the  corresponding  ranks  of 
society  in  other  parts  of  Europe.  The  Greeks  particu- 
larly were  no  longer  industrial  slaves  or  agricultural  serfs ; 
their  labor  was  both  more  free  and  more  valuable,  and 
their  civil  rights  were  as  great  as  those  of  the  same  class, 
even  in  France,  before  the  Revolution.  The  Ottoman 
government  corrupted  the  higher  classes  of  the  Greeks 
more  than  it  oppressed  the  lower.  The  cruelty  and  in- 
justice of  the  Turks  were  irregularly  exercised,  and  were 
more  galling  than  oppressive."^ 

As  to  the  reHgious  affairs  of  its  Christian  subjects,  the 
government  gave  itself  no  concern.  For  the  first  time 
in  a  thousand  years  the  Greeks  were  free  to  think,  teach, 
preach,  and  believe  as  they  would.  So  long  as  they  paid 
their  taxes,  and  met  the  various  demands  of  their  local 
governors  promptly  and  cheerfully,  the  Turks  left  them 
almost  wholly  to  themselves. 

*  Finlay,  p.  341. 


112  TTTE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

But  this  is  not  all.  The  Greeks  are  directly  indebted 
to  the  Turks  for  those  municipal  institutions  which  have 
proved  of  such  incalculable  importance  to  them  in  their 
later  history.  It  was  not  simply  that  they  were  left  free 
in  their  little  communities  to  manage  their  own  affairs  as 
they  pleased.  They  were  forced  into  a  municipal  organi- 
zation and  to  municipal  action  which  laid  the  foundation- 
stone  of  their  political  progress,  fixed  and  intensified  their 
national  life,  and  through  long  ages  of  servitude  effec- 
tually schooled  them  for  the  freedom  which  was  sure  to 
come.^  This  subject  demands  and  will  repay  a  careful 
consideration. 

The  Turkish  conquest  found  the  Greeks  bound  hand 
and  foot  in  a  most  miserable  bondage,  which,  as  Mr. 
Urquhart  observes  in  a  passage  already  cited,  "  left  the 
degraded  people  neither  rights  nor  institutions,  neither 
chance  of  amelioration  nor  hope  of  redress."'^  That 
great  revolution  destroyed  the  rapacious  and  tyrannical 
aristocracy,  reformed  the  corrupt  and  overgrown  hier- 
archy, swept  away  all  monopolies,  all  distinctions  of  caste 
and  class,  all  oppressive  social  exclusions,  and  leveled  the 
whole  nation  to  perfect  equality ;  "  so  that  in  industry 
alone  this  hitherto   effeminate  people  were  reduced  to 

*  The  vital  importance  of  these  municipal  institutions  has  been  clearly 
seen  and  strongly  set  forth  by  Prof.  Creasy,  Mr.  Finlay,  and  other  historians. 
See  Creasy's  History  of  the  Ottoman  Turks,  i.  pp.  169-330,  and  Finlay's 
Greece  Under  Ottoman  and  Venetian  Domination,  pp.  174-351.  But  per- 
haps no  other  writer  has  ever  studied  this  subject  so  thoroughly,  or  treated 
it  with  such  fullness  and  convincing  force,  as  Mr.  David  Urquhart,  in 
his  admirable  work  referred  to  at  the  commencement  of  the  preceding 
chapter. 

'  Turkey  and  its  Resources,  p.  19. 


POLITICAL  REGENERATION,  113 

seek  merit  and  distinction,  as  well  as  the  means  of  exist- 
ence." ^ 

At  the  same  time  the  nation  underwent  a  great  and 
terrible  sifting.  The  Turkish  conquest  was  attended 
and  followed  by  a  vast  and  widespread  apostasy  from 
the  Christian  faith.  This  defection  extended  to  all  classes 
of  society.  Among  laymen  and  ecclesiastics,  the  rich 
and  the  poor,  the  high  and  the  low,  the  learned  and  the 
ignorant  alike,  the  timid  and  wavering,  the  time-serving 
and  selfish,  the  bold,  ambitious,  and  warlike,  hastened  to 
escape  from  impending  servitude,  and  to  secure  the 
power,  privileges,  and  protection  of  a  dominant  class  by 
abjuring  their  faith.  It  has  been  estimated  that  at  the 
end  of  the  seventeenth  century  there  were  not  less  than 
a  million  of  Mohammedans,  in  the  European  provinces  of 
the  Empire  alone,  of  Christian  birth  or  descent.  Only 
those  held  fast  to  their  faith  in  whom  the  national  feeling 
was  invincibly  strong.  And  whatever  may  have  been 
their  weaknesses,  their  vices,  or  their  ignorance  and 
superstition,  from  that  day  to  this,  the  Greeks,  as  a  peo- 
ple, have  loved  their  religion,  have  clung  to  their  national 
hopes  and  aspirations  with  a  love  stronger  than  life. 

To  the  Turks,  the  Greeks  were  mere  tax-payers — a 
conquered  people,  their  own  rayahs  ^ — on  the  fruits  of 
whose  industry  they  were  to  live.  They  cared  nothing 
for  the  religion,  the  belief,  the  education,  or  even  the 

^  Id.,  p.  20. 

2  "  When  the  allied  powers  endeavored  to  intercede  in  favor  of  the 
insurgent  Greeks,  the  substance  of  the  answer  of  the  Porte,  for  a  long  time, 
was  little  more  than,  '  Are  they  not  our  rayahs  ?  ' — meaning,  have  we  not  a 
right  to  do  as  we  like  with  our  own  human  cattle  ?  " — Col.  Leake's  Travels 
in  NcMTthern  Greece,  i.  467,  note. 


114  THE  MODERN'  GREEKS, 

social  well-being  of  this  subject  caste,  except  as  these 
things  affected  their  own  interest  or  the  general  order  of 
society.  They  did  not  want  the  trouble  of  governing 
their  rayahs,  and  therefore  not  only  did  not  interfere  in 
their  domestic  affairs ;  they  compelled  them  to  take  care 
of  themselves — a  contemptuous  neglect  on  the  part  of 
their  conquerors  which  proved  of  inestimable  value  to 
the  Greeks.  They  were  forced  into  a  municipal  organi- 
zation, municipal  action,  and  municipal  freedom,  which 
were  the  salvation  of  their  national  life. 

After  the  conquest,  the  great  majority  of  the  Greeks 
remained  a  quiet,  rural,  agricultural  population,  holding 
their  land  upon  various  but  usually  definite  and  not  very 
burdensome  terms.  But  to  enable  them  to  meet  the 
.  exactions  of  the  government,  and  to  insure  their  submis- 
sion and  obedience,  everywhere,  in  every  town,  every  vil- 
lage, and  every  country  district,  the  Greeks  were  formed 
into  little  corporate  bodies  or  municipalities,  each  with 
its  own  elders,  heads,  primates,  or  archons.  These  com- 
munities were  held  collectively  responsible  in  all  things 
to  the  government.  The  elders  divided  and  assessed  the 
taxes ;  to  them  the  local  governors  addressed  all  requisi- 
tions, as  for  extraordinary  contributions,  for  quarters  and 
entertainment  to  travehng  officials,  and  for  the  compul- 
sory labor,' a  certain  number  of  days  in  the  year,  to  which 
tiie  villagers  were  held,  upon  roads,  bridges,  fortifications, 
and  other  public  works ;  they  were  answerable  for  the 
presence  as  well  as  the  obedience  of  all  their  members. 

In  their  small  way  these  communities  soon  became,  in 
a  surprising  degree,  little  self-contained,  self-sufficient, 
and  self-governing  republics,  in  which  the  most  perfect 


POLITICAL  REGENERATION,  1I| 

equality  prevailed.  Their  clergy  were  their  arbitrators 
and  judges;  their  elders,  chosen  yearly  in  the  church, 
their  administrators  and  financiers.  The  munidpal  tie  in 
these  little  communities  soon  became  exceedingly  strong. 
In  them  was  generated  a  public  sentiment  of  prodigious 
power,  which  became  the  law  and  the  life  of  the  nation. 
"  It  was  regarded  as  one  of  the  worst  crimes  of  which  a 
Greek  could  be  guilty,  to  appeal  to  a  Mohammedan 
judge,  if  a  Christian  bishop  could  be  made  arbitrator  of 
his  difference."^ 

This  moral  bond  became  almost  the  only  law  of  the 
rayah,  not  so  much  punishing  as  preventing  crime.  The 
people  of  each  community  were  shut  up  together,  watch- 
ing and  watched,  jailers  to  themselves.  These  munici- 
pal institutions  fixed  and  preserved  the  language,  religion, 
and  national  character.  It  is  not  their  Church  or  their 
priesthood  which  has  kept  the  Greeks  in  full  vitality  and 
vigor  through  all  the  weary  ages  of  their  servitude;  it  is 
this  municipal  life,  into  which  they  were  forced  by  the 
Turks.  "  It  is  the  moral  authority-^t  is  the  support  of 
fellowships  and  friendships  that  results  from  the  close 
pressure  of  man  and  man,  and  the  strong  linking  of  in- 
terests, and  opinions,  and  affections,  under  the  municipal 
bond ;  so  that  the  good  opinion  of  the  fraternity  in  which 
each  has  been  brought  up  is  to  every  man  more  than 
faith  or  law."  ^  ''The  local  energies  and  local  patriotism 
of  all  the  Christian  municipalities  in  the  Ottoman  Em- 
pire could  readily  unite  in  opposition  to  Ottoman  oppres- 
sion, whenever  a  connecting  link  to  centralize  their  efforts 

^  Finky,  p.  175.  ■  Urquhart,  36-39* 


Ii6  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

could  be  created.  .  .  .  Ecclesiastical  ties  greatly 
facilitated  this  union,  but  they  neither  created  the  impulse 
towards  independence,  nor  infused  the  enthusiasm  which 
insured  success.  The  first  step  to  liberty  in  modern 
Greece  was  made  in  the  municipalities.  They  were  the 
political  soul  of  the  n^ation."^ 

This  municipal  form  of  society  was  not  confined  to  the 
Greeks.  It  was  a  fundamental  principle  of  the  Turkish 
polity  throughout  the  Empire.  The  earlier  Sultans  always 
aimed  to  leave  all  local  affairs,  expenditures,  public  im- 
provements, and  police,  to  the  local  authorities  and  mu- 
nicipalities. All  towns  and  cities  were  thus  endowed 
with  important  municipal  privileges  and  powers.  To  this 
municipal  constitution  of  society  was  owing  that  surpris- 
ing degree  of  social  order  and  the  absence  of  crime 
among  the  common  people  which  has  always  character- 
ized the  Empire.  When  Mr.  Senior  was  in  Constanti- 
nople, in  1857,  h^  visited  Achmed  Vefic  Effendi,  an  in- 
telligent and  accomplished  Turk,  then  Minister  of  Justice, 
and  who  lost  his  office  a  few  days  afterwards  because  he 
was  a  just  judge.  This  eminent  official  assured  our  author 
that  in  that  great,  dark,  unwatched  city,  there  was  little 
crime ;  that  it  was  prevented  by  the  municipalities  of  the 
several  districts.  He  said  that  the  people  of  each  dis- 
trict formed  a  senate,  who  would  not  tolerate  evil  doers 
among  them ;  that  they  had  no  dangerous  class  but  the 
dogs ;  and  that  there  was  ten  times  more  of  disorder  and 
crime  in  the  Prankish  quarters  of  Galata  and  Pera  than  in 
the  city  proper.* 

*  PInlay,  pp.  351-2,  ■  Senior's  Journal,  pi»  18L 


POLITICAL  REGENERATIONT.  117 

In  a  greater  or  less  degree  these  statements  seem  to 
have  been  true  of  Constantinople  for  four  hundred  years ; 
and  not  of  Constantinople  alone,  but  of  all  the  better 
ordered  parts  of  the  Empire.  There  have  been  robbery 
and  violence  enough  on  the  part  of  armed  robbers,  a  law- 
less soldiery,  and  tyrannical  officials,  but  among  the  great 
mass  of  the  quiet,  home-keeping  people,  crime  has  al- 
ways been  very  rare  indeed.  Rev.  T.  C.  Trowbridge,  for 
eighteen  years  a  missionary  in  Asiatic  Turkey,  in  a  man- 
uscript communication  dated  July  ist,  1875,  uses  the 
following  language :  "  I  have  lived  in  Turkey  for  eight- 
een years;  have  passed  through  the  most  disturbed 
districts  of  Kurdistan  and  other  dangerous  regions,  such 
as  the  Balkan  Mountains  in  European  Turkey  and  the 
Taurus  in  Asiatic  Turkey,  and  I  give  it  as  my  sober 
opinion  that  life  is  more  secure  in  Turkey  than  in  the 
United  States.  There  are  more  murders  and  homicides 
in  New  England  in  a  month  than  there  are  in  the  whole 
of  Turkey  in  a  year."  It  is  the  strong  municipal  bond 
under  which  the  people  have  thus  for  ages  been  educated 
to  social  order,  and  which  so  powerfully  restrains  them 
from  crime.  Nor  has  this  restraining  influence  been  felt 
in  Turkey  alone.  In  a  greater  or  less  degree  it  has  pre- 
vailed in  most  parts  of  the  East 

Under  the  Turks  also,  the  Greeks  had  this  great 
advantage,  that  the  yoke  to  which  they  were  subjected 
was  one  of  open  and  acknowledged  force.  The  tyranny 
was  heavy,  but  it  was  frank  and  open.  It  was  fully  seen 
and  understood.  There  were  no  spies,  no  secret  police, 
no  interference  with  the  ordinary  life  of  the  people.  It 
did  not,  as  the  infinitely  worse  tyranny  of  so  many  so- 


Il8.  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

called  Christian  governments  has  done,  penetrate  with  its 
deadly  espionage  into  the  innermost  life  of  the  subject, 
destroying  all  freedom  of  action  and  of  opinion.  Within 
the  sacred  sphere  of  their  moral  and  social  Hfe  the  Greeks 
were  free.  The  tyranny  from  which  they  suffered  was 
mere  naked  violence,  which,  if  they  could  not  escape, 
they  could  manfully  endure.  The  weak  yielded  and 
apostatized;  the  firm  and  faithful  bore  their  burdens, 
excluded  from  the  full  enjoyment  of  their  rights  of  their 
own  free  will,  and  patiently  suffering  for  conscience  sake.* 
Another  point  to  be  always  borne  in  mind  is  that  from 
the  beginning  the  Greeks  always  felt  themselves  the 
rivals  of  the  Turks.  They  never  wholly  lost  their  polit- 
ical hopes  and  aspirations,  or  their  faith  in  their  national 
destiny ;  never  ceased  to  feel  that  their  bondage  was  only 
for  a  time ;  that  the  day  was  surely  coming  when  their 
freedom  and  their  lost  dominion  would  be  regained.  It 
might  be  possible  by  just  and  equal  legislation  to  unite 
Turks  and  Arabs,  or  Turks  and  Armenians  in  a  common 
national  destiny.  Turks  and  Greeks  could  never  be  so 
united.  The  Greeks  were  only  biding  their  time,  wait- 
ing for  the  day,  surely  coming,  however  distant,  when 
they  should  break  the  yoke  of  their  tyrants  and  drive 
them  from  the  land  of  their  fathers.^  As  the  Turkish 
power  slowly  waned,  and  the  Greeks  began  to  rise  in 
intelligence  and  conscious  strength,  this  feeling  grew 
steadier  and  more  intense,  and  long  before  the  close  of 
the  last  century,  the  revolution,  a  mortal  struggle  between 
the  two  races,  was  manifestly  near  at  hand. 

1  This  point  is  ably  discussed  by  Mr.  Urquhart,  pp.  12,  13. 

2  Finlay,  pp.  37-8. 


POLITICAL  REGENERATION,  II9 

We  thus  have  before  us  the  proof  of  our  proposition, 
that  the  Turkish  conquest  effected  a  grand  and  perma- 
nent enfranchisement  for  the  Greeks  as  a  nation,  was 
to  them  the  birthday  of  a  regenerated  poHtical  hfe.  The 
Turks  found  the  Greeks  the  cowering,  hopeless  victims  of 
a  crushing  tyranny ;  helpless,  enervated,  debased  ;  a  race 
of  slaves.  The  whole  system  of  that  moral  and  social  as 
well  as  political  oppression  under  which  they  had  so  long 
been  bowed  to  the  earth,  the  conquerors  at  once  and  for- 
ever swept  away.  Freed  wholly,  among  themselves,  from 
all  class  distinctions  and  privileged  orders,  the  Greeks 
were  left  in  absolute  equality  to  begin  their  political  career 
anew.  Relieved  from  the  financial  exactions  of  their  old 
tyrants,  they  lived  in  comparative  plenty  and  comfort ; 
the  restoration  of  the  Patriarchate  and  the  protection  of 
their  national  Church  gave  a  centre  and  bond  of  union  to 
their  national  life ;  above  all,  the  thorough  and  effective 
municipal  organization  which  the  entire  nation  was  forced 
to  adopt,  and  through  which  it  was  constrained  con- 
stantly to  act,  proved  to  it  the  salvation  of  language, 
religion,  and  national  life,  the  source  of  a  new  and  power- 
ful national  spirit,  the  effectual  school  of  a  true  republican 
freedom. 

From  this  great  revolution  we  are  to  date  the  rise  of  a 
regenerated  Greece.  For  many  generations,  owing  not 
so  much  to  the  oppression  of  their  Moslem  masters  as 
to  their  own  prostrate  and  helpless  condition,  the  pro* 
gress  of  the  Greeks  was  very  slow.  But  progress  there 
has  been  from  the  beginning,  even  under  the  Turks — a 
movement  advancing  at  first  by  feeble  and  a'most  im» 
perceptible  steps,  but  gradually  gathering  force  and  mo- 


m  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

mentum,  until  more  than  a  hundred  years  ago  it  had 
begun  to  display  itself  in  an  intensity  of  national  feeling, 
a  widespread  and  vigorous  activity,  and  a  rapidity  and 
energy  in  its  onward  march  which  arrested  and  fixed  the 
attention  of  Europe.  For  three  hundred  years  the  Greeks 
had  disappeared  from  history,  had  been  lost  sight  of  and 
forgotten.  But  from  that  time  tliey  could  be  forgotten 
no  more.  They  had  resumed  their  place  among  the 
Christian  peoples — a  place  destined  to  become  even  more 
important  and  commanding  as  the  generations  pass  away. 
They  are  still  weak  and  superstitious,  fickle,  childish,  and 
vain.  As  yet  they  have  not  passed  the  childhood  of  their 
new  political  development  But  they  have  two  great  and 
priceless  possessions,  the  fruits  of  their  long  municipal 
pupilage,  which  make  their  future  secure — one,  the  per- 
fect democratic  equality;  the  other,  the  full  moral  and 
social  freedom,  which  have  become  the  perpetual,  inde- 
structible birthright  of  the  race.  These  two  great  pos- 
sessions, of  which  no  revolution,  no  temporary  subjuga- 
tion can  deprive  them,  are  the  sure  conditions  of  constant 
and  unending  advancement ;  the  certain  promise  that  the 
auspicious  movement  so  long  ago  begun  in  the  history 
of  this  oppressed  race  will  go  steadily  on  to  a  final  and 
worthy  consummation. 

Let  us  now  turn  to  inquire  briefly  concerning  the  pop- 
ulation of  the  European  provinces  of  the  Empire  under 
the  earlier  Sultans,  and  the  distribution  of  its  several 
classes  and  races.  According  to  the  conjectural  estimate 
of  Prof.  Creasy,  the  Greeks  in  the  time  of  Solyman  the 
Magnificent  numbered  three  millions  of  souls.  Of  these 
there  were  one  million  in  Asia  Minor,  tv/o  millions  in 


POPULA  TION  OF  EUROPEAN  TURKE  V.  121 

Europe.  He  rates  the  population  of  European  Turkey 
at  fourteen  millions,  without  counting  the  few  genuine 
Turks — reckoning  the  Slavonians  (Bulgarians  and  Ser- 
vians) at  six  and  a  half  millions,  the  Wallachians  at  four, 
the  Greeks  at  two,  and  the  Albanians  at  one  and  a  half  ^ 
Of  the  Asiatic  Greeks,  those  near  the  coast  spoke  their 
own  language  ;  those  of  the  interior  had  been  subdued 
by  the  old  Seljuk  princes  three  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  years  before  the  taking  of  Constantinople,  and, 
having  forgotten  their  native  tongue  in  this  long  interval, 
spoke  then  as  they  do  now,  only  Turkish.^ 

The  number  of  true  Turks  in  the  European  provinces 
outside  of  Constantinople  has  never  been  large.  The 
predecessors  of  Mohammed  IL,  in  their  first  conquering 
inroads  into  Europe,  granted  certain  districts  in  Thrace, 
Macedonia,  Thessaly,  and  Bulgaria,  as  feudal  holdings  to 
their  Turkish  followers.  These  Turks,  from  Iconium,  the 
ancient  capital  of  the  Seljuk  kingdom  in  Asia  Minor, 
the  Greeks  have  always  called  Koniarides,  or  Iconians. 
With  these  Iconian  Turks  came  some  tribes  of  Yuruks,  or 
nomad,  shepherd  Turks,  who  fixed  themselves  in  the 
same  neighborhood,  and  gradually  abandoning  their  wan- 
dering habits,  became  settled  and  agricultural.  In  the 
early  years  of  the  present  century  Col.  Leake  found  these 
Yuruk  and  Iconian  Turks  still  occupying  their  ancient 
seats,  a  quiet,  peaceful,  industrious  people,  the  only  Turks 
in  Europe  who  did  not  despise  agricultural  labor,  and 
little  inclined  to  obey  a  summons  to  arms,  or  to  seek  their 
fortunes  abroad  in  the  service  of  the  government.  To 
this  rule,  however,  Mehemet  All,  the  famous  Viceroy  of 

*  .Ottoman  Turks,  i.  p.  320.  *  Macarius,  i.  pp.  6-7. 

6 


laa  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

Egypt,  who  was  a  Turk  from  the  neighborhood  of  Kav- 
ala,  formed  one  remarkable  exception. ^  Besides  these 
two  classes  of  Turks,  who  seem  to  have  been  the  only 
Turkish  colonists  who  ever  settled  in  Europe,  weie  the 
spahis  or  feudal  cavaliers,  who  were  fixed  everywhere  in 
the  conquered  territory.  As  each  district  was  subdued, 
its  land  was  divided  into  three  parts.  The  first  part  was 
vacouf,  or  sacred ;  its  revenue  was  devoted  to  the  sup- 
port of  mosques,  hospitals,  &c.  The  second  part  was 
made  allodial,  and  was  held  as  freehold  property,  Moslem 
occupants  paying  the  land  tax  (Sultan's  tenths),  and 
Christians  the  land  tax  and  capitation  tax.  The  third 
part  was  reserved  as  the  Sultan's  domain  lands ;  and 
from  these  lands  were  granted  the  three  classes  of  mili- 
tary fiefs — the  timars,  ziamets,  and  beylics,  or  lordships.^ 
The  timariot  held  from  three  hundred  to  five  hundred  acres, 
and  was  bound  to  be  always  ready  to  follow  the  Sultan's 
standard,  mounted,  armed  and  equipped,  either  alone  or 
followed  by  from  one  to  three  men  at  arms,  according  to 
his  income.  The  ziam  held  more  than  five  hrndred 
acres,  and  was  bound  to  appear  with  from  four  to  nine- 
teen mounted  followers.  The  later  writers  sp«  ak  of 
timariots  and  ziams  together  as  spahis  or  cavaliers  The 
Sandjak  Bey  was  the  commander  of  the  cavaliers  of  his 
district,  and  was  to  appear  at  the  head  of  twenty  J  tlow- 
ers  and  upwards  from  his  own  fief 

These  cavaliers  exercised  no  authority  over  theii  ten- 
ants ;  they  were  simply  entitled  to  the  land  tax  foi  theii 
support.     In  the  time  of  Mohammed  11.  there  were  thir 

»  Leake's  Travels  in  Northern  Greece,  iii.  pp.  174-5?  Finlay»  ^^%  • 
•Creasy,  i.  pp.  25-26,  160-6;  Finlay, p.  51. 


MILITARY  FIEFS,  323 

ty-six  sandjaks  in  the  European  provinces,  each  furnish- 
ing four  hundred  cavaliers.  These  fiefs  were  first  granted 
to  the  soldiers  of  the  old  regular  army,  infantry  and 
cavalry,  who,  after  the  organization  of  the  janizaries, 
were  paid  not  in  money  but  in  lands.  Most  of  the  earlier 
spahis  were  thus  genuine  Turks.  At  first  these  fiefs  were 
granted  only  for  life  -;  but  hereditary  descent  being  allow- 
ed, soon  became  established.  In  the  time  of  Solyman 
the  Magnificent,  they  descended  regularly  from  father  to 
son.  A  considerable  part  of  the  Turks  found  seventy- 
five  years  ago  in  the  villages  and  country  towns  of  Euro- 
pean Turkey,  belonged  to  the  families  of  the  old  spahis. 
The  spahis  served  as  irregular  cavalry  in  the  field ;  for 
the  defence  of  the  country,  a  garrison  of  janizaries  was 
established  in  every  fortress  and  important  city.  The 
janizaries  were  allowed  to  marry,  and  for  the  support  of 
their  families  were  permitted  to  engage  in  trade  and  othei 
pursuits.  At  length  they  were  suffered  to  enroll  their 
children  in  their  ranks,  and  became  at  each  post  a  settled 
colony  of  trading  militia,  without  discipline  or  military 
training,  and  little  inclined  to  obey  a  summons  to  the 
field.  But  the  janizaries  originally  were  all  of  Christian 
birth.  Beyond  Constantinople,  almost  the  only  true 
Turks  in  Europe  were  the  spahis  and  their  descendants 
(and  many  of  these  were  of  Christian  blood),  the  Yuruks 
and  the  Iconians. 

If  we  start  from  Saloniki  (Thessalonica)  in  southern 
Macedonia,  draw  a  line  north-westwards  to  Ochrida,  and 
thence  onwards  to  Scutari  and  the  Adriatic,  we  shall 
have  a  loose  approximation  to  an  important  ethnological 
boundary.     Above  this  fine  to  the  northern  border  of 


124  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

the  Turkish  dominions,  the  country  is  almost  wholly  oc- 
cupied by  the  Bulgarians,  Servians,  and  Wallachians. 
The  country  below  this  line  is  the  land  of  the  Greeks  and 
Albanians.  If  now  we  start  from  Ochrida,  and  passing 
along  the  chain  of  the  Pindus  Mountains  to  the  northern 
boundary  of  independent  Greece,  turn  thence  westwards 
to  the  north-eastern  corner  of  the  Gulf  of  Arta,  we  shall 
have  another  boundary  line,  separating  Albania  from  the 
country  of  the  Greeks.  In  the  territory,  including  the 
Morea  or  Peloponnesus,  south  of  our  first  boundary  line, 
and  east  and  south  of  the  second,  the  European  Greeks 
are  mainly  found.  Albania  embraces  the  two  districts 
known  ia  ancient  times  as  Epirus  and  Illyria.  The  sou- 
thern district  is  still  known  by  its  ancient  name,  and  the 
modern  Epirots  are  almost  as  unlike  their  northern 
countrymen  as  the  ancient  Epirots  were  unlike  their 
neighbors  the  Illyrians.  The  Epirots  speak  their  own 
language  and  have  their  own  peculiar  manners,  usages, 
and  dress;  but  they  are  in  many  points  intimately  associ- 
ated with  the  Greeks.  The  two  peoples  mutually  and 
largely  interpenetrate  each  other's  territory.  Yannina, 
the  capital  of  Epirus,  is  properly  a  Greek  city,  as  are  the 
seaports  Arta  and  Prevesa,  and  many  villages  have  a 
numerous  Greek  population.  On  the  other  hand,  even 
before  the  Turkish  conquest  a  great  Albanian  immigra- 
tion had  commenced  in  the  districts  properly  Greek.  As 
war  and  oppression  drove  the  Greeks  more  and  more 
from  the  open  country,  the  spaces  thus  left  vacant  were 
filled  by  colonies  of  this  ruder  and  hardier  race.  "The 
whole  surface  of  Bceotia,  Attica,  Megaris,  Corinthia,  and 
Argolis,  a  considerable  part  of  Laconia,  several  districts 


ETHNICAL  DIVISIONS.  I2i 

in  Messenia,  and  a  portion  of  Arcadia,  Elis,  and  Achaia, 
were  colonized  by  Albanians,  whose  descendants  pre- 
serve their  pecuhar  language  and  manners,  their  simple 
social  habits,  and  their  rude  system  of  agriculture  to  the 
present  day."^  They  occupy  also  the  islands  of -^gina, 
Hydra,  Ipsara,  and  Spetzia.  These  Albanians  are  grad- 
ually intermarrying  and  blending  with  the  Greeks,  and 
made  common  cause  with  them,  as  did  many  of  the 
Christians  of  Albania,  in  their  great  revolt  against  the 
Turks.  Marco  Botzaris,  the  noblest  hero  of  the  Greek 
Revolution,  was  a  Christian  Epirot  from  the  mountains 
of  Suli.  It  can  hardly  be  doubted  that  the  Greeks 
and  Epirots  are. destined,  sooner  or  later,  to  be  united  in 
a  common  national  development. 

Besides  the  Albanians,  and  the  Turks,  correctly  or  in- 
correctly so  called,  who  at  the  beginning  of  the  present 
century  formed  a  large  minority  of  the  population  in 
many  of  their  towns  and  villages,  the  Greeks  had  among 
them,  in  the  mountainous  districts  of  Thessaly,  numerous 
and  flourishing  colonies  of  still  another  people,  the  Wal- 
lachians.  Col.  Leake  found  these  Wallachians  a  quiet, 
diligent,  and  prosperous  people,  largely  devoted  to  mer- 
cantile and  mechanical  pursuits  at  a  distance  from  their 
homes,  and  every  way  an  important  and  valuable  class  of 
the  population.^  Many  of  them  were  wealthy  merchants 
in  Italy,  Spain,  Austria,  and  Russia.     Others  were  shop- 

^  Finlay,  p.  147. 

*  Travels  in  Northern  Greece,  i.  pp.  274-283.  According  to  the  state- 
ments in  this  passage,  of  five  hundred  Wallachian  villages,  none  of  tliem 
small,  scattered  among  the  moimtains  of  Epirus,  Thessaly,  and  Macedonia, 
two  of  the  largest  and  most  important  are  Metzovo  and  Kalarytes,  in  the 
Pindus  range. 


126                              THE  MODERN  GREEKS.  { 

keepers,  silversmiths,  gunsmiths,  and  tailors  in  the  cities 

of  Turkey.     But  wherever  they  might  wander  to  seek  j 

their  fortunes  in  the  years  of  active  life,  they  were  pretty  j 

sure  to  return  with  their  gains  to  spend  the  evening  of  \ 

their  days  at  home.  \ 


CHAPTER  III. 


STATE    OF    LEARNING— STATE    OF   RELIGION— 
THE    GREEK   CHURCH. 

Before  the  Turkish  conquest,  as  we  have  already 
seen,  the  religious  and  Intellectual  life  of  the  Greeks  was 
at  a  very  low  ebb.  Although  here  and  there  a  single  and 
partial  exception  appeared  to  a  statement  so  sweeping,  all 
manly  independence  and  vigor  of  thought,  all  soundness 
of  literary  judgment,  all  critical  discrimination  and  cor- 
rectness of  taste,  seemed  to  have  disappeared  from  the 
race.  The  Greek  writers  of  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth 
centuries  have  little  to  recommend  them  except  the  in- 
formation which  may  be  gleaned  from  their  pages  in  re- 
lation to  contemporary  events.  "  When  their  language  is 
free  from  grammatical  barbarisms,  the  imagination  of  the 
reader  is  tortured  by  involved  phraseology,  undefined 
epithets,  and  obsolete  expressions,  or  his  patience  is  ex- 
hausted by  a  profusion  of  tasteless  ornament  or  inappli- 
cable imagery.  Of  those  who  confined  themselves  to  the 
humbler  walk  of  compiling  from  the  labors  of  others,  the 
only  object  seemed  to  be  an  anxiety  to  amass  material, 
however  gross,  and  congregate  incidents,  however  ill- 
attested.  Truth  and  fable,  the  sacred  and  profane,  super- 
stition and  historical  veracity,  are  promiscuously  blend- 


128  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

ed  throughout  their  volumes.  .  .  .  During  nearly 
twelve  centuries,  no  new  discovery  calculated  to  promote 
the  dignity  or  happiness  of  mankind,  no  fresh  idea  to  cast 
a  light  over  the  speculative  pursuits  of  their  fathers,  no 
high  production  of  discerning  judgment,  no  grand  effu- 
sion of  creative  genius,  was  added  to  the  patrimony  which 
they  had  derived  from  their  ancestors."^ 

The  educated  classes  still  studied,  wrote,  and  spoke 
their  ancient  language ;  and  their  Greek  would  seem  to 
have  been  as  good  as  the  Latin  of  the  monkish  writers  of 
the  West.  But  with  the  common  people,  even  of  Con- 
stantinople, it  was  not  so.  In  their  speech  the  classic 
Greek  had  already  become  transformed  into  Romaic.  Sir 
Emerson  Tennent  agrees  with  Col.  Leake  in  the  opinion 
that  the  modern  Greek  language  was  formed  in  the  East 
at  about  the  same  time  with  Italian  and  French  in  the 
West.'^  But,  feeble  and  puerile  as  the  literature  of  the 
Greeks  had  become,  they  had  not  lost  that  intellectual 
curiosity  and  love  of  knowledge  which  seems  the  perpet- 
ual and  indestructible  characteristic  of  their  race.  Their 
ancient  literary  treasures  were  still  diligently  studied.  In 
the  century  preceding  the  Turkish  conquest,  an  important 
change  was  manifest  in  the  scholastic  pursuits  of  the 
Greeks.  They  began  to  write  less  and  to  give  themselves 
with  more  eager  enthusiasm  to  study — a  change  healthful 
and  hopeful,  in  so  far  as  it  indicated  in  them  a  growing 
consciousness  of  their  own  weakness  and  appreciation  of 
the  more  manly  and  vigorous  productions  of  a  better 
age.    "  Apparently   ashamed   of  their   own   degenerate 

*  Tennent,  ii.  pp.  150-1.  *  Id.i  ii.  66. 


STA  TE  OF  LEARNING.  129 

productions,  the  enlightened  body  of  the  people  turned 
with  avidity  towards  the  literature  of  their  ancestors, 
and  by  degrees  the  passion  for  authorship  was  aban- 
doned for  domestic  study  and  the  culture  of  their  ancient 
tongue.  It  was  to  this  revolution  that  we  are  in/lebted 
for  the  host  of  illustrious  scholars,  who,  about  the  period 
of  the  downfall  of  their  country's  independence,  awoke 
in  Italy  and  the  West  a  taste  for  the  learning  and  lan- 
guage of  the  early  Greeks."  ^ 

With  the  capture  of  Constantinople  and  Trebizond, 
the  learning  of  the  Greeks  in  great  measure  disap- 
peared. Their  scholars  were  dispersed,  their  schools  were 
broken  up,  and  although  the  monasteries  still  possessed 
their  libraries,  sometimes  large  and  valuable  collections 
of  ancient  authors,  the  selfish,  scheming  monks  and 
higher  clergy,  unmindful  of  both  the  duties  and  the  op- 
portunities of  their  position,  seemed  to  think  only  of 
pushing  their  own  interests  under  the  patronage  of  the 
Turks.  The  light  of  learning  was  not  wholly  extin- 
guished, but  it  only  glimmered  faintly  here  and  there 
in  the  darkness,  and,  for  two  hundred  and  fifty  years,  the 
education  of  even  the  more  intelligent  Greeks  enabled 
them  to  do  little  more  than  read  and  understand  the  ec- 
clesiastical Greek  of  their  Church  services. 

The  state  of  learning  among  the  Greeks  of  the  latter 
half  of  the  fifteenth  century  was  low  enough,  but  their 
reHgion  was  yet  more  debased.  They  had  forgotten  the 
Scriptures ;  ^  they  had  ceased  from  all  controversy  and 

'  Tennent,ii.  155-60. 

*  Except  as  they  were  formally  read  in  ancient  Greek  in  the  regular  les 
sons  of  the  Church  service. — See  Travels  of  Macarius,  i.  p.  186. 

6* 


iJO  THE  MODERN  GRLEKS, 

discussion  upon  matters  of  faith,  save  as  they  were  pro- 
voked by  their  fierce  hatred  of  the  Latin  Churches  of  the 
West ;  they  accepted  their  Church  ritual  with  the  unin- 
quiring,  unthinking  acquiescence  of  a  dead  orthodoxy. 
Dissociated  from  morahty,  rehgion  consisted  wholly  of 
outward  forms.  *'  Prayers  were  morality,  kneeling  was 
religion/*  The  common  people  were  devout,  there  was 
no  lack  of  fervor  in  their  worship ;  but  that  worship  was 
paid  almost  wholly  to  the  Virgin,  to  the  saints,  to  pictures 
and  relics.  There  was  depth  of  religious  conviction  and 
strength  of  religious  sentiment ;  but  their  religion  had 
been  perverted  into  a  heathenish  superstition  which  could 
be  made  to  cover  and  sanction  the  greatest  crimes.  The 
pirate  and  the  robber  would  not  start  upon  their  plun- 
dering errands  until  they  had  obtained  the  blessing  of  a 
priest,  kept  a  lamp  always  burning  before  a  picture  of 
the  Virgin,  humbly  besought  her  guidance  and  help  in 
their  bloody  work,  paused  over  their  victims  before  strik- 
ing the  murderous  blow,  to  see  whether  they  had  the 
means  to  buy  absolution  from  the  Church,  Jiung  up  votive 
offerings  at  some  neighboring  shrine,  and  in  the  midst 
cf  a  thousand  enormities,  would  shudder  at  the  idea  of 
eating  meat  on  a  fast  day.^ 

From  the  religion  of  the  Greeks  the  life  and  light  of 
a  true  Christianity  had  almost  disappeared — almost  but 
not  wholly.  The  traditions  of  the  Church,  the  pictures  of 
Biblical  scenes  which  covered  the  walls  of  the  churches, 
the  ritual,  even  the  ceremonial  of  their  Church  service — 
all  these  things,  like  the  traditions  and  ceremonial  of  the 
Jews,  had  their  value  to  a  people  so  rude  and  simple, 
^Tenrent,  i.  373-4' 


STATE  OF  RELIGION.  131 

alforded  them  something  of  spiritual  light  and  guidance, 
something  of  moral  and  religious  instruction. 

Of  the  state  of  religious  feeling,  belief,  and  practice 
among  the  better  classes  of  the  more  cultivated  and  intel- 
ligent Greeks,  during  the  earlier  centuries  of  Turkish  rule, 
we  have  an  excellent  illustration  in  the  Travels  of  Maca- 
rius.  Paul  of  Aleppo  is  very  sincere  and  earnest,  very- 
religious  and  devout.  He  loves  the  Christian  faith  and 
the  Greek  Church,  more  especially  the  latter,  with  in- 
tensest  devotion.  He  is  no  monk,  has  a  wife  and  chil- 
dren whom  he  tenderly  loves,  is  in  sympathy  with  men, 
and  has  a  mind  large  enough  and  liberal  enough  to  observe 
with  thoughtful  interest  the  character  of  the  government 
and  the  condition  of  the  people  in  the  countries  which  he 
visits.  But  his  religion  is  little  in  advance  of  that  of  the 
monks  of  the  West  three  centuries  earlier.  It  finds  its 
expression  almost  wholly  in  ascetic  austerities  and  the 
observances  of  the  Church.  Of  the  Scriptures  he  has 
nothing  to  say,  except  some  casual  references  to  them  as 
they  are  read  in  the  regular  services.  Respecting  the 
great  fundamental  truths  of  the  Christian  faith,  he  is 
wholly  silent.  They  have  been  fixed  forever  in  the 
ancient  creeds,  there  is  no  longer  any  occasion  to  speak 
of  them,  or  think  of  them,  except  as  they  are  assailed  by 
heretics.  All  his  religious  interest  is  centered  upon  the 
rites,  usages,  and  ritual  of  the  Church.  The-  holiness 
which  he  loves,  and  to  which,  so  far  as  the  weakness  of 
the  flesh  will  permit,  he  aspires,  is  to  be  sought  almost 
exclusively  in  the  rigid  observance  of  every  fast,  the 
scrupulous  fulfillment  of  every  rite,  the  diligent,  con- 
scientious, complete  performance  of  every  appointed  ritual 


132  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

service,  by  day  and  by  night;  above  all,  in  reverent  devo- 
tion— he  does  not  call  it  vv-'orship — before  every  sacred 
picture  and  relic. 

The  devout  Syrian  is  filled  with  wonder ;  he  labors  to 
express  the  depth  of  his  delighted  admiration  at  the 
almost  superhuman  piety  of  the  whole  Russian  people, 
from  the  Czar  to  the  lowest  peasant.  The  filthy  austeri- 
ties of  the  monks  were  to  him  evidence  of  surpassing 
holiness.  '*  We  saw  upon  several  of  them,  with  our  own 
eyes,  girdles  of  iron  chain,  which  they  had  worn  upon 
their  bodies  for  a  period  of  forty  years.  Their  shirts  and 
their  other  body  garments  they  never  change  till  they 
are  entirely  worn  out  upon  them.  They  never  wash  them 
at  all ;  and  the  odor  and  unction  of  devotion  and  sanctity 
are  manifest  on  their  persons.  Yet,  wonder  of  wonders ! 
for  all  this,  their  smell  was  to  us  as  that  of  musk  !  Oh, 
their  sleekness,  blessedness,  and  felicity !  God  set  our 
portion  with  them  !  We  thank  Almighty  God  that  he  has 
vouchsafed  us,  in  our  time,  a  sight  of  these  saints."  ^ 

Such  piety  as  was  manifested  in  the  universal  adora- 
tion of  holy  pictures,  he  had  never  seen.  ,  "  Here  all, 
both  at  the  doors  of  their  houses  and  of  their  shops,  and 
also  Old  ^1  the  public  streets  and  roads,  set  up  holy 
images ;  to  which  every  person,  as  he  enters  or  goes  out, 
turns  his  face  and  crosses  himself  So,  likewise,  whenever 
they  come  within  sight  of  a  church-door,  they  bow  to 
the  images  from  a  distance.  .  .  .  This  is,  indeed,  a 
blessed  country,  and  here  the  Christian  faith  is  preserved 
in  its  undoubted  purity."^     And  then,  such  wonders  of 

»  Travels  of  Macarius,  ii.  p.  197.  *  Id.,  L  p.  273. 


STATE  OF  RELIGION,  133 

faith  and  devotion  as  were  seen  in  the  constant  attend- 
ance of  the  people,  high  and  low,  insensible  to  fatigue 
and  to  the  fiercest  rigors  of  Arctic  cold,  upon  their  per- 
petual and  interminable  church  services.  "We  did  not 
go  forth  from  the  church  till  the  sun  was  risen.  .  .  . 
We  suffered,  during  this  night,  from  the  severe  cold  and 
frost,  what  was  sufficient  to  kill  us,  especially  as  we  had 
to  stand  upon  the  iron  pavement.  God  is  witness  that 
our  souls  were  ready  to  depart  from  us.  .  .  .  But 
what  surprised  us  most  was  to  see  the  boys  and  Httle 
children — not  those  of  the  common  people,  but  the  sons 
and  daughters  of  the  great  officers  of  state — standing  bare- 
headed and  motionless  like  statues,  without  betraying 
the  smallest  gesture  of  impatience.  What  wonderful 
constancy  and  faith  !  "  ^  '*  The  worst  of  all  was  that  we 
did  not  leave  the  church  until  evening;  and  then 
scarcely  had  we  seated  ourselves  at  table,  when  the  bells 
were  again  tolled  for  vespers,  at  which  we  must  rise  to 
give  our  attendance.  What  is  to  be  thought  of  this  per- 
severing assiduity,  from  which  this  pious  nation  never 
deviates,  in  its  attention  to  all  the  offices  of  religion, 
amidst  the  most  trying  circumstances  ?  Are  we  to  sup- 
pose them  insensible  to  fatigue,  and  to  believe  that  they 
can  live  without  eating  ;  that  they  are  never  to  be  satiated 
with  the  most  constant  succession  of  prayers  and  meta- 
noias,  standing  up  to  them  on  their  legs  during  the  whole 
time,  with  their  heads  uncovered  in  the  coldest  weather, 
without  the  smallest  appearance  of  weariness  or  faintness 
from  the  length  of  the  service,  which  is  always  so  exces- 
sive?'"^ 

*  Travels  of  Macarius,  ii.  226-7.  •  Id.,  i.  p.  350, 


134  'f^HE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

But  when  he  comes  to  speak  of  the  new  and  strange 
fancy  of  the  Patriarch  Nicon  in  adding  to  the  long  ser- 
vice a  sermon  for  the  instruction  of  the  people,  his 
amazement  has  no  bounds.  He  can  .  only  express  his 
utter  astonishment  at  the  incredible  piety  and  fortitude 
of  these  Russian  saints.  ''  We  entered  the  church  as  the 
clock  struck  three,  and  did  not  leave  it  till  ten,  having 
stood  there  with  them  about  seven  hours  on  our  legs,  on 
the  iron  pavement,  enduring  the  most  severe  cold  and 
piercing  frost.  But  we  were  consoled  for  all  this  by  wit- 
nessing the  admirable  devotion  of  this  people.  Nor  was 
the  patriarch  satisfied  with  the  ritual  and  the  long  synax^ 
ariay  but  he  must  crown  all  with  an  admonition  and  a 
copious  sermon  !  God  grant  him  moderation !  His 
heart  did  not  ache  for  the  Emperor,  nor  for  the  tender 
infants !  What  should  we  say  to  this  in  our  country  ? 
Would  to  God  we  were  thus  patient !  Without  doubt 
the  Great  Creator  has  granted  to  this  nation  to  be  His 
pecuHar  people  ;  and  it  becomes  them  to  be  so,  because 
all  their  actions  are  according  to  the  spirit,  and  not  to 
the  flesh ;  and  they  are  all  of  this  disposition.  Nor  was 
yet  this  enough;  but  after  the  Emperor  and  the  Patriarch 
had  sent  us  a  banquet,  and  we  had  sat  down  to  table, 
still  in  that  state  of  stupefaction,  the  bells  immediately 
began  to  ring  for  vespers  !  "  ^ 

The  religion  brought  before  us  in  these  passages  is  in- 
deed perverted  and  obscured.  We  hardly  recognize  in  it 
the  -faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints — the  faith  of  the 
Apostles,  the  early  Christians,  and  of  our  own  evangelicaJ 

*  Travels  of  Macarius,  ii.  51-2. 


STATE  OF  RELIGION,  135 

churches.  Yet  after  all,  we  canndt  help  feeling  that  there 
have  been  far  worse  forms  of  Christianity  than  that  of  the 
simple,  devout,  kindly  and  honest  archdeacon  of  Aleppo. 
He  was  true  to  his  convictions,  fervent  and  sincere,  faith- 
ful according  to  the  light  he  enjoyed ;  and  of  him  more, 
perhaps,  was  not  required.  The  like  charity  we  may  ex- 
tend to  his  fellow-believers,  the  rude  and  lowly  Greek 
peasantry  of  Europe.  Their  religion  was  most  unscrip- 
tural ;  was  mixed  with  much  which  may  truly  be  called 
heathenish  superstition.  It  was  a  childish  faith,  but  it 
was  the  faith  of  children  in  moral  and  intellectual  devel- 
opment ;  and  living  in  honesty  and  domestic  virtue, 
industrious,  frugal,  and  patient,  following  the  spiritual 
guidance  of  their  simple  pastors — as  poor,  almost  as  Igno- 
rant as  themselves — standing  steadfastly  for  the  faith  as  it 
had  been  taught  them,  and  performing  faithfully  what 
they  believed  to  be  their  religious  duties,  we  may  trust 
that  even  their  poor,  distorted  service  was  not  unaccepted 
of  Him  who  will  not  break  the  bruised  reed  nor  quench 
the  smoking  flax. 

Although  the  early  perversions  of  Christianity  kept 
nearly  equal  pace  in  the  East  and  the  West,  the  Greek 
and  Roman  Churches  have  been  distinguished  for  fifteen 
centuries  by  radical  and  most  important  differences.  The 
Eastern  Church  retained  the  rhetoric  and  the  subtle 
philosophy  of  the  Greeks ;  the  Western  Church,  practical, 
unphilosophical,  submissive,  inherited  the  legal,  organiz- 
ing, administrative  genius  of  Rome.  The  Greek  Church 
was  unpractical,  unaggressive,  intellectual,  contempla- 
tive, stationary.  The  Roman  Church,  with  neither  love 
nor  aptitude  for  subtle  speculation,  received  its  theology 


13,6  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

from  the  Greeks,  but  was  active,  flexible,  progressive,  im- 
perial. "  The  East  enacted  creeds,  the  West  discipline."' 
"  The  first  decree  of  an  Eastern  Council  was  to  determine 
the  relations  of  the  Godhead.  The  first  decree  of  the  Pope 
of  Rome  was  to  interdict  the  marriage  of  the  clergy."  * 
Monasticism  was  as  widely  prevalent,  as  highly  hon- 
ored, in  the  one  church  as  in  the  other.  But  be- 
tween the  monks  of  the  East  and  those  of  the  West  there 
was  this  immense  difference  :  The  monks  of  the  East 
were  inactive,  unaggressive,  never  thinking  of  any  earnest 
effort  to  extend  the  triumphs  of  their  faith,  but  preferring 
rather  to  escape  from  all  labor,  whether  of  body  or  of 
mind,  and  seek  for  perfection  through  spiritual  repose 
and  holy  contemplation.  The  monks  of  the  West,  on  the 
other  hand,  when  living  up  to  their  discipline,  were  among 
the  most  earnest  and  laborious  of  men.  Their  great  idea 
was  to  seek  for  holiness  by  an  unceasing  conflict  with  the 
weaknesses  of  the  flesh.  To  this  end  they  deemed  no 
means  more  effectual  than  such  constant  occupation, 
either  physical  or  mental,  as  should  give  the  tempter  no 
access  to  their  souls.  Perpetual  employment,  either  in 
religious  exercises,  in  the  literary  labors  of  the  cloister,  in 
subduing  and  tilling  their  ample  fields,  or  in  Christian  ac- 
tivity abroad,  was  thus  the  law  of  their  life.  They  were 
filled  with  an  irrepressible  energy  and  zeal  for  conquest ; 
and  from  the  days  of  St  Patrick  to  those  of  Francis 
Xavier,  they  have  been  among  the  most  laborious,  enter- 
prising, and  successful  missionaries  that  the  Christiiin 
Church  has  ever  produced. 

*  Milman's  Latin  Christianity,  i.  p.  119. 

■  Stanley's  History  of  the  Eastern  Churchy  p.  109, 


THE  GREEK  CHURCH:  137 

But  while  the  Christian  West  has  thus  been  ever  ad- 
vancing to  new  conquests,  among  the  ancient  churches  of 
the  East,  excepting  only  the  mission  of  Ulfilas  to  the 
Goths,  and  the  stupendous  operations  of  the  Nestorians, 
any  such  aggressive  Christian  labor  has  been  almost  un- 
known f6r  fifteen  hundred  years. 

**  In  the  midst  of  the  Mohammedan  East  the  Greek 
populations  remain  like  islands  in  the  barren  sea ;  and  the 
Bedouin  tribes  have  wandered  for  twelve  centuries  round 
the  Greek  convent  of  Mount  Sinai,  probably  without  one 
instance  of  conversion  to  the  creed  of  men  whom  they 
yet  acknowledge,  with  almost  religious  veneration,  as 
beings  from  a  higher  world."  ^ 

For  the  thousand  years  which  followed  the  division  of 
the  Roman  Empire  between  the  sons  of  Theodosius  in 
395,  the  balance  of  advantage  in  the  radical  differences  be- 
tween the  Christianity  of  the  East  and  that  of  the  West  was 
immensely  in  favor  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  The  Church 
of  the  East  stood  motionless  and  helpless  in  the  midst 
of  its  foes.  But  not  so  the  mightier  Church  of  the  West. 
That  Church  grappled  manfully  with  the  new  world  of 
barbarism,  by  which  it  seemed  about  to  be  overwhelmed, 
subdued  it  to  itself,  and  out  of  the  moral  and  social  chaos 
which  surrounded  it,  slowly ,  but  surely  built  up  a  new 
civilization,  better  and  nobler  than  that  which  had  been 
destroyed.  But  in  modern  times  the  scales  have  turned; 
and  now,  for  many  generations,  the  Greek  Church  has 
held  a  position  far  more  favorable,  far  less  oppugnant  to 
the  development  of  light  and  truth  and  the  progress  of 
society  than  that  of  its  ancient  rival. 
i  Stanley,  p.  122. 


138  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

The  Church  of  the  West,  obedient  to  the  tendenJes 
which  it  had  inherited  from  imperial  Rome,  early  assumed 
a  centralized  and  monarchical  form,  with  unlimited  spirit- 
ual authority  in  the  hands  of  the  Pope.  And  the  Popes, 
thus  clothed  with  absolute  power,  became  the  source  and 
the  authors  of  an  immense  body  of  ecclesiastical  legislation, 
the  decretals  and  canon  law,  which  fixed  rigidly  and  un- 
changeably almost  every  point  relating  to  the  moral  and 
religious  interests  of  society  and  the  Church.  In  its  long 
contest  with  the  barbarism  of  the  Middle  Ages,  this  cen- 
tralized, energetic  power  of  the  Western  Church  was  the 
ground  of  its  invincible  strength,  and  to  it  we  are  largely 
indebted  even  for  the  better  things  of  later  times.  But 
when  the  age  of  darkness  began  to  pass  away,  and  the 
Christian  communities  of  the  West  were  ready  to  break 
forth  in  a  larger  and  freer  development,  this  despotism  of 
the  Roman  Church,  so  minute  and  all-embracing,  so  ab- 
solute and  relentless,  became  an  iron  bondage,  a  mill- 
stone about  the  neck  of  society,  an  insuperable  bar  to  all 
healthful  progress,  to  all  freedom  of  thought  and  of  action. 

The  Church  of  the  East,  on  the  other  hand,  has  always 
been  comparatively  free.  It  has  had  no  spiritual  sover- 
eign, no  centralized  and  despotic  power.  The  Patriarchs 
have  been  no  more  than  presiding  bishops,  and  the  great 
body  of  the  bishops  have  formed  an  aristocracy  with  no 
monarchical  head  except  the  Emperors.  The  constitu- 
tion of  the  Eastern  Church  was  thus  as  distinctively  aris- 
tocratic as  that  of  the  Western  was  monarchical  and  des- 
potic. Again,  the  Church  of  the  East  has  never  been 
cursed  with  a  mania  for  ecclesiastical  legislation.  Almost- 
all  points  left  undetermined  by  the  great  councils  have 


THE  GREEK  CHURCH,  139 

remained  unfixed  by'  any  ecclesiastical  authority.  In 
this  respect  alone,  the  Greek  Church,  as  compared  with 
the  Papal,  enjoys  a  measure  of  freedom  at  the  present 
time  of  incalculable  value  and  promise.  No  ecclesiastical 
law  has  ever  prohibited  or  limited  the  reading  of  the 
Scriptures  and  the  services  of  the  Church  in  the  language 
of  the  common  people ;  or  enjoined  the  celibacy  of  the 
parochial  clergy ;  or  denied  the  sacramental  cup  to  the 
laity  ;  or  asserted  the  infallibility  of  the  Church ;  or  re- 
quired auricular  confession  ;  or  afifirmed  the  doctrines  of 
transubstantiation,  purgatorial  punishment,  and  works  of 
supererogation ;  or  sanctioned  the  sale  or  granting  of 
indulgences.^  The  principle  has  always  been  established 
that  the  church  services  of  every  nation  of  the  Greek 
faith  should  be  in  its  own  language ;  and  although,  with 
the  lapse  of  time,  the  language  of  these  services  has  in 
most  cases  become  antiquated  and  unfamiliar  to  the  com- 
mon ear,  the  principle  is  still  the  same.  So  also  the  cir- 
culation of  the  Scriptures  in  the  vernacular  of  each  peo- 
ple has  never  been  forbidden,  has  in  many  cases  been 
favored  and  earnestly  promoted.  "  The  Arabic  transla- 
tion of  the  Scriptures,  even  in  the  Coptic  Church,  is  .lis- 
tened to  with  the  utmost  attention,  and  is  taught  in 
Coptic  schools."^ 

The  parochial  clergy  are  usually  in  Turkey,  alwaj^ 
in  Russia,  married  men,  but  are  not  allowed  to  marry 
after  ordination.  The  bishops  and  higher  clergy  are  all 
from  the  order  of  monks,  and  therefore  unmarried.  The 
laity  hold  a  far  higher  and  more  important  position ;  the 
separation  between  laity  and  clergy  is  far  less  wide  and 

*  Stanley,  Lecture  I. ;  Tennent,  chap,  x.  *  Stanley,  p.  1*7.   . 


140  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

complete  in  the  Greek  Church  than  in  the  Latin.  The 
Greek  priesthood  claim  no  such  divine  powers  as  are  ar- 
rogated to  themselves  by  the  priesthood  of  the  Romish 
Church.  The  words  of  ordination  are  a  simple  prayer  for 
the  divine  blessing ;  the  words  of  absolution,  not  as  in  the 
Romish  Church,  *'  I  absolve  thee,"  but,  "  May  the  Lord 
absolve  thee."^  The  vows  of  the  Greek  priest  are  not, 
like  those  of  his  Latin  brother,  indelible.  It  is  possible 
for  him  to  divest  himself  of  holy  orders  and  return  to  the 
ranks  of  common  life.  The  monks  are  not  necessarily 
priests,  as  in  the  West.  "  The  monastic  orders,  although 
including  many  clergy,  are  yet  in  the  East  to  a  great  ex- 
tent, as  they  are  never  in  the  West,  but  as  they  were 
entirely  in  early  times,  lay  and  not  clerical  institutions. 
The  vast  community  of  Athos  is,  practically,  a  lay  corpo- 
ration, assisted  by  a  small  body  of  chaplains."  ^  These 
statements  make  it  clear  that  the  Greek  Church  has  been 
subjected  to  the  bondage  of  ecclesiastical  authority  in  a 
far  less  degree  than  the  Church  of  Rome.  But  another 
and  far  more  important  point  remains  to  be  considered. 
As  we  have  seen,  the  Turkish  conquest  reduced  the  whole 

^  Stanley,  p.  126. 

*  Id.,  p.  126.  This  statement  of  Dean  Stanley,  however  true  at  the  pres- 
ent time,  is  a  little  misleading  as  to  the  condition  of  the  Greek  monasteries 
in  the  past.  When  Colonel  Leake  visited  the  Greek  monasteries  of 
Thessaly  and  Macedonia,  in  the  first  decade  of  the  present  century,  it 
would  seem  that  the  lay  brethren  did  not  outnumber  the  clerical  monks  or 
caloyers.  At  Meteora,  in  western  Thessaly,  there  were  twenty  caloyers, 
whom  alone  he  calls  monks,  and  as  many  lay  inmates.  Lavra  (or  Laura) 
and  Vatopedhi,  two  of  the  largest  of  the  twenty  monasteries  of  Mount  Athos, 
had,  the  former  four  hundred,  the  latter  three  hundred  caloyers,  either  pres- 
ent or  absent,  besides  which  each  had  connected  with  it,  *'  a  great  number 
of  cosmics,"  or  lay  brethren. — Travels  in  Northern  Greece,  vol.  iii.  pp.  1 14- 
140;  voL  iv.  pp.  537-542. 


THE  GREEK  CHURCH,  141 

Greek  nation  to  a  perfect  legal  equality,  transformed  it 
into  a  vast  democracy.  As  the  -result  of  this  revolution, 
there  gradually  grew  up  among  the  commonalty  of  the 
Greek  Church  a  powerful  and  indestructible  spirit  of 
democratic  freedom.  And  as  this  spirit  grew  and  strength- 
ened, there  came  with  it  an  ever- widening  distinction  be- 
tween the  great  body  of  the  people,  with  their  simple 
and  lowly  married  pastors  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  vast 
ecclesiastical  corporation  of  the  monks  and  higher  clergy 
on  the  other. 

The  whole  hierarchical  system  of  the  Greek  Church  is 
based  upon  the  monastic  order  ;  and  of  the  Greek  monas- 
tic order,  the  twenty  convents  of  Mount  Athos,  the  Holy 
Mountain,  are  the  central,  and  in  the  eyes  of  all  Christians 
of  the  Greek  communion  of  whatever  nation,  the  sacred 
seat.^  But  the  Greek  monastic  life,  as  we  have  already 
seen,  has  been  from  the  beginning  indolent,  stationary, 
fruitless.  Averse  to  all  labor,  whether  of  body  or  of 
mind,  save  as  they  engaged  in  it  for  their  own  subsistence 
or  in  the  hope  of  gain,  the  Greek  monks  for  many  centu- 
ries have  lived  in  stupid  ignorance,  leaving  the  treasures 
of  ancient  learning  stored  up  in  their  libraries  unstudied 
and  neglected  ;  have  put  forth  no  evangelistic  effort  for 

*  Mount  Athos  is  the  ancient  promontory  or  peninsula  of  Acta,  sixty 
miles  south-east  from  Saloniki  or  Thessalonica,  across  the  narrow  neck  of 
which,  a  mile  and  a  half  wide,  Xerxes  dug  his  famous  ship  canal,  on  his  in- 
vasion of  Greece.  The  monastic  community  occupies  the  whole  peninsula, 
on  which  no  female,  whether  woman,  beast,  or  domestic  fowl,  is  permitted 
to  land.  In  these  convents  are  represented  all  the  families  of  the  Greek 
faith — the  Greek,  Bulgarian,  Servian,  Wallachian,  Russian,  and  Georgian. 
Besides  the  peninsula,  they  possess  large  estates  in  different  parts  of  Eu* 
ropean  Turkey,  some  of  them  in  Russia. 


I4a  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

the  instruction  of  the  people  and  the  advancement  oC 
their  faith ;  have  had  r^  thought  or  aspiration  for  the 
pubhc  good.  The  only  virtue  to  which  they  aspired  was 
the  rigid  observance  of  the  ritual  of  the  Church,  and' the 
fasts,  austerities,  and  penances  prescribed  by  their  monastic 
rule.  Their  only  passion  was  for  the  accumulation  of 
money  and  the  pushing  of  their  own  personal  interests. 
Such  a  life  made  the  Greek  monks,  as  a  rule — a  rule  not 
without  its  honorable  exceptions — narrow,  bigoted,  self- 
ish, and  useless  in  the  last  degree.  From  this  order  the 
bishops  and  all  the  higher  clergy  were  taken,  and  formed 
a  hierarchy  worthy  of  such  a  parentage.  To  make  the 
matter  worse,  the  high  offices  of  the  Church  were  prizes 
eagerly  coveted  by  the  wealthy  Greeks  ;  and  many  of 
these,  often  among  the  most  worthless  of  men,  were  con- 
tinually entering  tlie  monasteries  for  the  most  selfish 
ends.^  Among  the  Greek  prelates  for  the  three  hundred 
and  seventy  years  following  the  fall  of  Constantinople, 
there  were  always  here  and  there  men  of  virtue,  honesty, 
and  public  spirit,  sometimes  of  sound  learning  and  true 
liberality  of  mind.  Cyril  Lucar,  Patriarch  of  Constanti- 
nople in  1635,  was  a  man  whose  ''  whole  life  was  a  com- 
plicated struggle  against  the  Jesuits  of  the  Latin  and 
the  hierarchy  of  the  Greek  Church,  and  a  yearning  after 
the  Protestant,  chiefly  the  Calvinistic,  theology  of  Geneva, 
Holland,  and  England."  ^  Germanos,  Bishop  of  Patras, 
was  the  first  to  raise  the  standard  of  revolt  in  1821,  and 
there  were  other  prelates  who  took  part  in  the  revolution 
with  a  patriotism  as  manly  and  disinterested  as  his.  But 
the  great  majority  of  the  Greek  bishops  from  1453  to 
'  Finlay,  p.  178.  «  Stanley,  p.  455. 


THE  GREEK  CHURCH.  143 

1 82 1  were  mere  tools  of  the  Porte,  mere  hangers  on 
upon  Turkish  officials,  always  ready  to  secure  their  per- 
sonal ends  by  bribery  and  intrigue,  the  selfish  and  rapa- 
cious tyrants  of  their  flocks.  "  The  monks  and  the  dig- 
nified clergy  became  intriguers  at  Turkish  divans,  flat- 
terers of  Ottoman  officials,  and  systematic  spies  on  the 
conduct  of  the  parish  priests,  and  on  the  patriotic  senti- 
ments of  the  laity.-  They  served  for  three  centuries  as 
the  most  efficient  agents  of  the  Ottoman  government,  in 
repressing  the  national  aspirations  for  independence 
among  the  Greeks."^  "The  entire  body  of  the  un- 
married clergy,  from  the  humblest  cenobite  to  the  en- 
throned chief  of  their  religion,  may  thus  be  looked  upon 
as  one  connected  and  classified  system  of  tyranny ;  each 
individual  existing  by  the  spoils  of  those  immediately 
beneath  him,  and  all  supported  by  the  hard-wrung  con- 
tributions of  the  Greeks.  They  can  only  be  regarded  as 
an  insulated  weight,  an  incubus  imposed  upon  the  mass  of 
the  people,  with  whom  they  had  no  mutual  sympathies, 
and  from  the  midst  of  whom  they  might  have  been  re- 
moved without  rending  a  single  tie  or  inflicting  an 
essential  injuiy.'*^ 

Under  the  Turks  the  four  original  Patriarchates  of  the 
Eastern  Church  were  still  represented.  There  were,  i, 
the  Patriarch  of  Constantinople ;  2,  the  Patriarch  of 
Alexandria,  who,  with  all  his  pompous  titles,  was  a  pre- 
late without  a  church,  supported  by  the  enforced  contri- 
butions of  the  merchants,  Copts,  and  Roman  Catholics  of 
Egypt ;  3,  the  Patriarch  of  Antioch,  established  in  the 
time  of  Macarius  at  Damascus,  and  the  head  of  the 
*  Finlay,  p.  159.  *  Tennent,  vol.  i.  p.  4x2. 


144  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

feeble  remnant  of  the  orthodox  Arabic- speaking  Chris- 
tians of  Syria ;  and  4,  the  Patriarch  of  Jerusalem,  the 
poorest  of  the  four,  and  the  only  one  empowered  to 
name  his  own  successor.  Of  these  once  mighty  digni- 
taries, the  Patriarch  of  Constantinople  was  the  only  one 
possessed  of  any  real  power  or  importance.  The  other 
three  were,  after  a  time,  driven  by  their  poverty  to  Con- 
stantinople, and  their  offices  became  Iktle  more  than  high 
titular  dignities  in  the  Greek  Church.^ 

In  reorganizing  the  affairs  of  the  Greeks,  Mohammed 
11.  constituted  a  Grand  Synod  of  the  leading  prelates  of 
the  Greek  Church,  under  the  presidency  of  the  Patriarch 
of  Constantinople,  to  stand  as  the  responsible  head  of  the 
Church  and  nation,  and  to  be  the  medium  of  all  commu- 
nications between  the  government  and  the  Greek  people. 
It  consisted  at  first  of  sixteen  archbishops.  Four  of  these, 
the  Archbishops  of  Heraclea,  Cyzicum,  Chalceden,  and 
Drekos,  held  their  seats  ex  officio  ;  the  other  twelve  were 
named  by  the  Patriarch.  This  Synod  elected  (or  rather 
nominated,  for  in  every  case  the  real  appointing  power 
was  reserved  to  the  Sultan)'^  the  Patriarch  of  Constanti- 
nople, the  minor  Patriarchs  of  Alexandria  and  Antioch, 
and  the  archbishops  and  bishops  generally.  It  took  cog- 
nizance of  all  the  affairs  of  the  Greek  people,  secular  as 
well  as  ecclesiastical ;  through  it  were  forwarded  all  the 
firmans  of  the  Porte  relating  to  them  ;  it  was  empowered 
to  confirm  or  annul  all  decrees  of  the  minor  prelates  in 

*  Tennent,  i.  p.  361. 

*  "  Waddington,  Greek  Churchy  54,  says  the  words  of  the  barat  of  the  Sii- 

tan  were,  '  I  command  you  to  go  and  reside  as  bishop  at ,  according 

to  the  ancient  custom,  and  to  the  vain  ceremonies  of  the  inhabitants.'  ''—Fin- 
lay,  p.  i63»  note. 


THE  GREEK  CHURCH,  145 

their  respective  sees.*  The  first  four  Patriarchs  obtained 
their  office  by  a  fair  election,  without  any  money  pay- 
ment. The  fifth,  Simeon  of  Trebizond,  bought  the  dep- 
osition of  his  predecessor  and  his  own  elevation  for  a 
thousand  ducats.  From  this  time  the  Patriarchate,  and 
every  other  important  office  in  the  Church,  had  its  price. 
The  Patriarch  held  his  position  only  until  another  candi- 
date appeared  with  a  sufficient  bribe ;  bribery,  simony, 
and  intrigue,  as  universal  as  they  were  shameless,  became 
almost  the  only  ladder  of  advancement  to  the  corrupt 
hierarchy.  Thus,  while  the  great  body  of  the  nation, 
with  its  simple  married  pastors,  was  slowly  growing  into 
a  vast  Christian  democracy,  the  monks  and  higher  clergy 
formed  a  great  and  corrupt  ecclesiastical  corporation,  en- 
tirely separate  in  their  whole  character  and  in  all  their 
interests  from  the  mass  of  the  people.  The  common  peo- 
ple looked  up  to  the  bishops  with  something  of  respect, 
mingled  with  superstitious  awe  and  fear,  as  the  heads  of 
their  faith,  and  as  holding  in  their  hands  the  awful  powers 
of  the  Church  ;  yet  too  often  hated  them  as  rapacious 
tyrants,  and  were  glad  to  be  freed  from  their  power.  Ac- 
cording to  Sir  Emerson  Tennent,  there  were  many  dis- 
tricts which  obtained  from  the  Porte  the  privilege  of  living 
without  bishops,  and  of  being  governed  by  Exarchs, 
without  salary,  chosen  from  the  ranks  of  their  married 
priests.'* 

Of  the  papas  (popes)  or  married  parochial  clergy  of 
the  Greeks  as  a  body,  for  the  three  hundred  years  fol- 
lowing the  Turkish  conquest,  the  best  authorities  are 
agreed  in  speaking  with  much  respect.     The  members  of 

1  Tennent,  L  353.  *  Modern  Greece,  i.  411. 

7 


146  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

this  order  differed  greatly  in  character,  according  to  their 
varying  circumstances.  Among  the  wild  robbers  of  the 
mountains  the  priests  were  sometimes  tempted  to  make  a 
trade  of  pardoning  crimes,  and  to  promote  rather  than 
oppose  the  wickedness  which  brought  them  gain.  In  the 
towns,  through  their  ignorance,  poverty,  and  inferior  social 
position,  they  were  greatly  demoraHzed,  and  many  of 
their  number  were  base  and  worthless  men.  But  the 
great  body  of  the  order,  Hving  away  from  the  corrupting 
influences  of  the  towns  in  the  quiet  agricultural' districts 
of  the  country,  were  simple,  virtuous,  and  sincere.  Cut 
off  from  all  hope  of  Church  preferment,  living  with  their 
families  among  their  people,  sharing  in  their  toils,  their 
burdens  and  trials,  their  pleasures  and  their  joys,  com- 
pletely identified  with  them,  looked  up  to  by  them  with 
reverent  affection  as  their  friends  as  well  as  their  spirit- 
ual guides,  they  were  generally,  as  far  as  their  qualifica- 
tions would  perrhit,  true  pastors  to  their  flocks. 

They  were  as  poor,  as  superstitious,  almost  as  ignorant 
as  their  people.  Their  education  merely  sufficed  to  en- 
able them  to  read  the  Church  services;  they  were  often 
obliged  to  pursue  some  industrial  calling  for  the  support 
of  their  families.  But  with  simple  faithfulness  they  per- 
formed the  ministries  of  their  Church,  and  kept  their  peo- 
ple steady  and  true  in  their  devotion  to  a  persecuted  reli- 
gion. "  The  parish  priests  were  a  class  of  men  destitute 
of  learning,  and  possessing  no  great  personal  authority; 
but  as  the  agricultural  classes  in  the  villages  formed  the 
heart  of  the  nation,  the-  parish  priests  had  an  influence  on 
the  fate  of  Greece  quite  incommensurate  with  their  so- 
cial rank.     .     .     .     The  secular  clergy,  without  seeking 


THE  GREEK  CHURCH,  147 

the  mighty  charge,  and  without  being  suited  worthily  to 
fulfill  the  mission,  became  by  the  nature  of  things  the 
real  representatives  of  the  Greek  Church,  and  the  nation- 
al ministers  of  religion.  To  their  conduct  we  must  surely 
attribute  the  confidence  which  the  agricultural  population 
retained  in  the  promises  of  the  Gospel,  and  their  firm 
persistence  in  a  persecuted  faith.  The  grace  of  God  ope- 
rated by  human  means  to  preserve  Christianity  under  the 
domination  of  the  Ottomans."  ^ 

>     f^«(y,  pp.  x8o-l. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


CONDITION  OF  THE  GREEKS  IN  THE  SIXTEENTH 
AND  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURIES — ARMATOLl  AND 
KLEPHTS — THE  AGE  OF  PIRACY — VENETIAN  CON- 
QUEST   OF   THE    MOREA.  " 

For  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  after  the  conquest  of 
Constantinople,,  the  Ottoman  Empire  remained  in  the  full- 
ness of  power  and  prosperity,  and  the  population,  both 
Mohammedan  and  Christian,  steadily  increased.*  The 
Sultans  were  able  and  energetic  men  who  held  the  reins 
of  government  firmly  in  their  own  hands ;  the  Pashas 
and  local  officials  were  held  in  steady  subjection ;  rebel- 
lions and  civil  dissensions  rarely  disturbed  the  peace  of 
the  provinces ;  the  laboring  classes,  both  in  the  agricul- 
tural districts  and  the  towns,  were  industrious  and  pros- 
perous ;  manufactures  flourished ;  the  trade  of  the  Em- 
pire, both  domestic  and  foreign,  was  vast  and  lucra- 
tive. "  Various  manufactured  articles  were,  for  two  cen- 
turies, generally  imported  from  the  Sultan's  dominions 
into  other  countries,  particularly  camlets,  a  strong  stuff 
composed  of  silk  and  mohair  called  grogram,  rich  bro- 
caded silks,  embroidered  scarfs,  Turkey  carpets,  leather 
and  yarn,  besides  Angora  wool,  cotton  wool,  and  raw 

^  I*  inlay,  p.  6l. 


DECLINE  OF  THE  EMPIRE.  149 

silk,  flax  and  hemp,  in  addition  to  the  usual  produce  ex- 
ported from  the  Levant,  Southern  Italy  and  Sicily  at  the 
present  day.  .  .  .  Livadea  and  Athens  .  .  , 
supplied  sail-cloth  for  the  Ottoman  navy.  English  ships 
already  visited  the  Morea  and  Missolonghi  to  load  cur- 
rants, and  often  brought  back  rich  scarfs,  sashes  of  varie- 
gated silk  and  gold  tissue,  and  Turkey  leather  of  the 
brightest  dyes,  which  were  manufactured  at  different 
towns  in  Greece,  particularly  at  Patras,  Gastouni,  and 
Lepanto."  ^ 

But  with  the  seventeenth  century  began  the  decline  of 
the  Ottoman  power,  and  a  period  of  great  depression 
and  calamity  to  the  Greeks.  The  Sultans  were  no  longer 
masters  of  their  own  Empire ;  supreme  power  was  in 
the  hands  of  ministers  and  favorites ;  the  great  Pashas 
had  become  semi-independent  and  defiant,  the  minor 
officials  rapacious  and  tyrannical;  rebellions  and  civil 
wars  laid  waste  the  provinces ;  ^  and  a  vast  and  terrible 
system  of  piracy  and  slave- catching  destroyed  the  trade 
of  the  Empire,  and  depopulated  and  ruined  the  islands 
and  coasts  of  Greece.  In  the  seventeenth  century,  the 
Greeks  descended  to  the  lowest  point  of  feebleness  and 
misery  ever  reached  in  all  their  history — a  point  from 
which  they  began  to  rise  in  the  vigor  of  a  regenerated 
national  life. 

The  social  condition   of  the  Greeks  during  the  first 

^  Finlay,  p.  187. 

'  When  Macarius  and  Paul  of  Aleppo  returned  to  Asia  Minor,  in  1659, 
they  found  the  whole  Peninsula,  from  Briisa  to  Aleppo  and  Diarbekir,  in 
coniasion,  through  the  formidable  rebellion  of  Abaza  Hassan  El  Jelali, 
Pasha  of  Aleppo. — Macarius,  vol.  iL  pp.  415,  431,  435. 


I50  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

three  centuries  of  Turkish  rule  differed  widely  in  different 
parts  of  the  Empire.  In  the  extent  of  their  sufferings 
at  the  outset,  through  the  havoc  of  the  conquest  itself; 
in  the  character  and  degree  of  their  subsequent  servi- 
tude ;  in  their  exposure  to  corrupting  influences,  to  local 
oppression,  and  to  the  inroads  of  enemies,  their  circum- 
stances varied  as  widely  as  the  districts  in  which  they 
dwelt. 

I.  The  Greeks  were  very  numerous  in  Western  Asia 
Minor,  in  Southern  Macedonia,  and  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  capital.  In  these  central  regions  of  the  Empire, 
which  foreign  foes  never  invaded,  which  were  rarely 
wasted  by  civil  strife,  and  in  which  the  power  of  Turkish 
rule  was  steady  and  irresistible,  the  condition  of  the 
Greeks  differed  very  widely,  in  some  respects  for  the 
better,  in  others  for  the  worse,  from  that  of  their  brethren 
in  Greece  proper  and  the  islands.  In  the  first  place, 
having  yielded  in  most  cases  to  overwhelming  force 
and  without  resistance,  they  had  suffered  less  at  the 
great  revolution  of  the  Turkish  conquest.  In  some 
districts,  especially  in  the  Morea  and  the  islands,  where 
the  Venetians  made  a  stubborn  defence,  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  Greek  population  was  so  great  as  to  essen- 
tially diminish  the  numbers  of  the  race.  To  say  no- 
thing of  the  awful  carnage  which  followed  the  subjuga- 
tion of  any  city  or  province  in  which  serious  resistance 
was  encountered,  the  immense  deportation  of  the  inhabi- 
tants which  followed  left  many  districts  entirely  depopu- 
lated. Nor  was  this  devastation  limited  to  places  taken 
at  the  point  of  the  sword.  The  fate  of  the  great  island 
of  Lesbos,   or  Mytilene,  is  an  example  in  point.     This 


CONDITION  OF  THE  GREEKS,  ly 

rich  and  populous  island  had  belonged  to  seigniors  of 
the  Genoese  family  of  Gattilusio.  In  the  hope  of  preserv- 
ing his  dominions,  the  last  Seignior  of  Mytilene,  Nicholas 
Gattilusio,  not  only  surrendered  his  capital,  but  turned 
Mohammedan ;  while  the  people  who  hated  their  Catho- 
lic lords  were  equally  prompt  in  transferring  their  allegi- 
ance to  the  Turks.  The  island  had  become  a  nest  of 
Sicilian,  Italian,  and  Spanish  pirates,  who  from  this  con- 
venient refuge  infested  the  Turkish  waters,  and  in  1462 
Mohammed  11.  determined  to  break  it  up.  Neither 
prince  nor  people  were  saved  by  their  submission.  The 
seignior  was  rewarded  for  his  treacherous  apostasy  by 
the  bowstring ;  one-third  of  the  people,  the  most  intelli- 
gent and  skillful,  were  removed  to  fill  the  empty  streets 
of  Constantinople;  a  second  third,  the  youngest  and 
fairest,  were  sold  into  slavery,  and  only  the  remaining 
third,  the  poorest  and  meanest  of  the  inhabitants,  were 
left  to  occupy  the  island. 

The  booty  in  slaves  was  one  of  the  chief  rewards  of 
the  Turkish  soldiery.  It  was  thus  a  prime  end  of  every 
expedition,  as  had  been  the  case  in  almost  all  the  wars 
of  the  ancient  world,  to  bring  back  a  great  host  of  cap- 
tives for  the  slave  market.  Whatever  the  event  of  the 
campaign,  the  captives  must  be  gathered,  the  slaves  must 
be  had.  The  second  invasion  of  Germany  by  Solyman 
the  Magnificent,  in  1531,  resulted  in  an  ignominious  re- 
treat ;  but  thirty  thousand  captives  served  to  appease  the 
army  and  defray  the  cost  of  the  campaign.^  "Those  ter- 
rible incursions  into  Styria,  Carinola,  and  Carintliia,  and 
into  Italy  as  far  as  the  banks  of  the  Isonzo  and  Tag- 

J  Uphana'a  Ottoman  Empire  (Constable's  edition),  vol.  ii.  p.  11. 


iSa  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

fiamento,  were  often  made  merely  to  gratify  the  troops 
with  a  rich  booty  in  slaves,  not  with  the  intention  of 
making  any  permanent  conquests."  ^ 

The  Venetians  pursued  the  same  course  on  their  part. 
"The  Venetian  government  excited  the  activity  of  its 
mercenary  troops  by  granting  them  two-thirds  of  all 
the  booty  they  collected,  and  by  establishing  regular  sales 
by  auction  of  the  captives  brought  into  the  camp,  paying 
the  soldiers  three  ducats  a  head  for  each  prisoner."' 
Thus,  between  the  Turks  and  Venetians,  the  unhappy 
Greeks  of  the  South  were  ground  as  between  the  upper 
and  the  nether  millstone.  Modon  was  destroyed  by  the 
Turks,  Megara  by  the  Venetians.  The  Greek  population 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Argos  and  Nauplia  was  extermin- 
ated ;  the  great  island  of  Negropont  was  taken  from  the 
Venetians  after  a  brave  defence,  and  most  of  its  Greek 
inhabitants  sold  for  slaves.  In  1537,  the  island  of  ^Egina, 
then  flourishing  under  Venetian  rule,  was  taken  by  the 
famous  Barbarossa,  the  Admiral  of  Solyman  the  Mag- 
nificent. The  city  wds  destroyed,  all  the  males  capable 
of  bearing  arms  were  slain,  six  thousand  young  women 
and  children  were  carried  into  slavery,  and  the  island  was 
left  without  inhabitants.^ 

From  horrors  like  these,  the  Asiatic  and  Macedonian 
Greeks  of  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries  were  in 
great  measure  free.  They  subsided  quietly  into  their 
new  position  under  Turkish  rule — a  position  which  re- 
mained fixed  and  permanent.  They  were  not  greatly 
oppressed ;  they  lived  in  comparative  comfort  and  plenty 
— and  so  they  remained  for  four  hundred  years  ;  as  well 
1  Finlay,  p.  77.  «  Finlay,  p.  77.  »  Id.,  83. 


CONDITION'  OF  THE  GREEKS,  153 

off,  according  to  the  statement  of  Mr.  Urquhart,  already 
cited,  as  any  agricultural  peasantry  in  the  world.  Yet, 
though  always  a  prolific  race,  their  numbers  have  re- 
mained for  all  these  four  hundred  years  very  nearly  the 
same.  There  has  been  no  essential  increase.  Of  this 
important  fact  the  reasons  are  obvious.  The  Greeks  of 
these  provinces  lived  shut  in  and  kept  down  by  a  military 
aristocracy  of  an  alien  race  and  a  hostile  faith.  They 
paid  their  taxes  in  kind,  and  labored,  hoped  for,  nothing 
more  than  the  means  of  subsistence  from  year  to  year. 
The  weight  of  Turkish  power  was  so  heavy,  so  steady, 
and  so  utterly  irresistible,  as  to  leave  them  neither  hope 
nor  aspiration  for  any  change.  Worst  of  all,  they  lived 
in  constant,  intimate  exposure  to  Turkish  influences  in 
their  most  depressing,  corrupting  form.  The  temptation 
to  apostasy  was  great  and  never-ceasing,  and  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  for  three  centuries  their  loss  by  apostasy, 
and  the  tribute  of  the  fifth  male  child,  was  enough  to 
counterbalance  the  natural  increase  in  their  numbers. 
For  the  past  hundred  years  it  would  seem  that  the  Greek 
population  had  slowly  but  steadily  increased. 

II.  For  the  first  three  centuries  of  Turkish  rule,  the 
inhabitants  of  Northern  Greece  and  Albania,  from  Mount 
Olympus,  Ochrida,  and  Scutari  on  the  north,  to  the 
Gulf  and  Isthmus  of  Corinth  on  the  south,  held  a  posi- 
tion very  peculiar,  and  in  some  respects  singularly  ad- 
vantageous. Throughout  this  wide  region,  almost  alone 
in  the  Ottoman  dominions,  a  great  part  of  the  Christian 
population  retained  their  arms  and  a  large  measure  of 
freedom.  The  Albanians  will  demand  a  separate  consid- 
eration.    In  Northern  Greece,  through  all  this  period, 

7* 


IS4  THE  MODERN  GREEKS.     ^ 

we  meet  with  two  classes  of  brave  and  warlike  Greeks, 
always  in  arms,  always  trained  to  a  life  of  hardihood, 
adventure,  and  military  daring,  which  were  destined  to- 
gether to  play  a  very  important  part  in  the  coming 
events  of  their  national  history — the  Armatoli  and  the 
Klephts} 

The  whole  of  Northern  Greece,  as  far  as  the  boundaries 
of  Attica,  was  subdued  by  Bajazet  I.  and  Amurath  11. ; 
Albania  finally  surrendering  to  Amurath  in  1432.^  At- 
tica, Megaris,  and  the  Morea  yielded  to  the  arms  of  Mo- 
hammed 11.  after  the  fall  of  Constantinople.  From  that 
time,  excepting  the  twenty-three  years  of  Scanderbeg's 
heroic  reign  in  Albania,  and  now  and  then  a  successful 
Venetian  invasion,  the  whole  of  Northern  Greece  re- 
mained in  the  undisputed  possession  of  the  Turks.  Their 
authority,  however,  was  very  imperfectly  established. 
The  plains  of  Thessaly  and  Karlili  ^  were  occupied  and 
appropriated  in  the  usual  way,  but  the  warHke  mountain- 
eers, who  formed  a  large  majority  of  the  population  of 
Northern  Greece,  were  really  unsubdued.  Safe  in  their 
fastnesses  among  the  mountains,  and  encouraged  and 
supported  by  the  Venetians,  they  continually  vexed  and 
wasted  the  Turkish  settlements  in  the  plains. 

^  For  a  full  account  of  the  Armatoli  and  Klephts  of  Northern  Greece^ 
see  Tennent,  chap.  xi. 

«  Tennent,  i.  pp.  122,  166. 

'  Karlili  is  the  name  given  by  the  Turks  to  the  district  lying  south  of 
Albania,  between  Arta  and  the  Gulf  of  Corinth,  including  &e  ancient 
Acarnania  and  ^Etolia.  "  The  name  is  supposed  to  have  been  attached  to 
the  country  by  the  Turks,  because  on  their  first  arrival  they  found  it  in  pos- 
session of  a  Frank  prince,  named  Charles  Tocco." — Leake's  Travels  ia 
Northern  Greece,  vol.  i.  p.  ^24,  note. 


THE  ARM  A  TOU  AND  KLEPHTS,  1 55 

Too  much  occupied  with  other  and  more  profitable 
enterprises  to  undertake  the  almost  impossible  task  of  the 
thorough  conquest  of  these  wild  mountains,  the  Sultans 
finally  had  recourse  to  concession  and  compromise.  The 
Christian  mountaineers,  upon  the  payment  of  tribute, 
were  permitted  to  retain  their  arms,  and  were  formed  into 
regular  and  permanent  bands.  These  bands  were  re- 
ceived into  the  service  of  the  Porte  as  a  kind  of  local 
militia  for  the  defence  of  the  country  and  the  preserva- 
tion of  order.  Thus  arose  the  famous  bands  of  the  Chris- 
tian Armatoli,  which  for  nearly  three  hundred  years  oc- 
cupied the  whole  of  Northern  Greece  (not  including  Al- 
bania), from  the  Isthmus  of  Corinth  to  the  borders  of 
Macedonia.  Each  canton  had  its  own  independent  band; 
and  each  band  its  hereditary  captain,  whose  residence 
was  in  the  chief  town  of  his  district,  and  whose  jurisdic- 
tion was  called  an  armatolic.  The  members  of  these  bands 
were  called  pallikaris  ;  and  each  captain  had  a  lieutenant 
or  secretary,  called  proto-pallikarL 

But  besides  the  Armatoli,  there  were  great  numbers 
of  armed  mountaineers,  who,  disdaining  submission  to 
the  Turks,  maintained  themselves  in  their  mountain  fast- 
nesses in  fierce  and  haughty  independence.  Owning  a 
nominal  allegiance  to  some  distant  Turkish  ofRcial,  and 
paying  their  tribute  with  greater  or  less  regularity,  they 
were  really  free  ;  and  keeping  up  a  perpetual  warfare  with 
the  Turks  of  their  own  neighborhood,  they  were  known 
as  KlephtSy  or  robbers — a  name  which  soon  came  to  be 
held  in  highest  honor  among  the  Greeks. 

The  greater  part  of  Northern  Greece  was  thus  left  in 
the  enjoyment  of  a  very  unusual  measure  of  freedom. 


156  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

There  were  some  important  districts  which  really  govern- 
ed themselves  with  little  interference  on  the  part  of  the 
Turks,  and  in  which  the  Greek  inhabitants  lived  in  quiet 
and  prosperity  until  the  beginning  of  the  present  century. 
One  of  these,  the  neighborhood  of  Mounts  Ossa  and 
Pelion  in  eastern  Thessaly,  has  been  already  referred  to. 
Another,  the  little  republic  of  Agrafa,  deserves  more 
particular  mention. 

Agrafa^  is  a  district  about  fifty  miles  in  length  by 
thirty-five  in  breadth,  lying  in  the  mountainous  region 
south  of  Thessaly.  At  the  beginning  of  the  present  cen- 
tury it  contained  eighty- five  towns  and  villages,  and  fifty 
thousand  inhabitants.  Its  peculiar  privileges,  dating  back 
apparently  to  a  period  far  anterior'  to  the  Turkish  con- 
quest, were  preserved  in  its  capitulation  with  Moham- 
med IL,  and  until  the  times  of  Ali  Pasha  and  the  Greek 
Revolution,  it  kept  its  proud  position  as  a  free  republic, 
tributary  to  the  Porte.  Every  year  the  people  chose 
their  archon  and  council ;  and  under  the  direction  of 
the  archons,  a  Christian  captain  with  two  hundred  men, 
and  a  Mohammedan  Albanian  with  three  hundred,  kept 
the  peace  and  guarded  the  roads.  In  the  more  favored 
districts  agriculture  was  very  flourishing,  and  large  quan- 
tities of  wine,  butter,  cheese,  wool,  silk,  honey,  sheep, 
goats,  cows,  and  oxen  were  exported.  There  were  man- 
ufactures of  cotton,  wool,  gold,  silver,  sword-blades,  gun- 
barrels,  and  pistol-locks,  giving  employment  to  a  third  of 
the  whole  population,  while  great  numbers  of  the  men 
were  engaged  abroad  as  shopkeepers,  artisans,  and  car- 
riers.     These,  and  many  similar  examples  which  might 

*  Leake's  Travels  in  Northern  Greece,  vol.  iv.  pp.  266-274. 


THE  MOREA  AND  THE  ISLANDS,  157 

be  cited,  are  conclusive  proof  that  the  Greeks  of  the 
seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries  needed  only  to 
be  let  alone  to  insure  their  prosperity  and  rapid  advance- 
ment. 

Until  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century,  the  Greek 
Armatoli  were  in  high  favor  with  the  Turks.  The  Porte 
looked  to  them  as  a  ready  means  for  curbing  its  mutinous 
spahis ;  the  Pashas  kept  them  in  pay  as  a  force  on  which 
they  might  hope  to  depend  in  any  quarrel  with  the  Porte. 
But  after  the  conquest  of  the  Morea  by  the  Venetians,  in 
1687,  and  their  final  expulsion  from  Greece  by  the  treaty 
of  Passarovitz,  in  171 8,  the  Porte  began  to  look  upon 
these  Christian  soldiers  with  a  jealous  eye,  and  to  devise 
means  to  disunite  and  destroy  them.  To  this  end  a 
Dervent-Aga,  or  guardian  of  the  roads,  was  appointed, 
with  a  jurisdiction  extending  over  all  Northern  Greece, 
and  having  his  guard-houses  and  company  of  Albanian 
guards  at  every  important  point.  After  1 740,  this  office 
was  bestowed  upon  the  Albanian  Pashas  of  Epirus ;  and 
finally,  towards  the  close  of  the  last  century,  by  the  craft 
and  force  of  Ali  Pasha  of  Yannina,  the  Armatoli  were 
effectually  broken  up.  Many  of  them  enlisted  in  the 
service  of  Ali,  but  the  great  majority  were  driven  to  swell 
the  ranks  of  the  independent  Klephts. 

III.  While  the  Christians  of  the  northern  provinces  were 
thus  living  in  comparative  quiet  and  prosperity,  to  the 
Greeks  of  the  Morea  and  the  islands,  through  the  rivalry 
and  frequent  wars  of  the  Turks  and  Venetians,  the  six- 
teenth century  was  a  troubled  and  calamitous  period. 
The  Morea  was  repeatedly  invaded  by  the  Venetians, 
and  although  the  Christian  forces  were  expelled  by  the 


158  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

Turks,  each  of  these  bloody  and  desperate  struggles  en- 
tailed fearful  loss  and  sufferings  upon  the  unhappy  Greeks. 
The  islands  were  wrested  slowly,  and  one  by  one,  from 
their  Latin  masters.  Mytilene  was  subdued  in  1462, 
Zante  and  Cephalonia  in  1479,  Rhodes  in  1522,  the 
Cyclades  in  1537-8,  Cyprus  in  1570,  while  Candia,  the 
last  stronghold  of  the  Venetians  in  the  -^gean,*  held  out 
until  1669.  The  story  of  most  of  these  successive  con- 
quests is  the  same  sickening  recital  of  the  pillage,  slaugh- 
ter, and  enslavement  of  the  wretched  inhabitants.  Thus, 
hardly  had  the  power  of  the  Sultan  been  firmly  estab- 
lished in  these  southern  regions,  hardly  had  the  unhappy 
Greeks  begun  to  look  forward  to  something  of  peace  and 
prosperity  under  Turkish  rule,  when  the  Empire  entered 
upon  its  long  decHne,  and  the  dark,  disastrous  age  of  the 
seventeenth  century  set  in. 

Throughout  the  Mediterranean  and  its  tributary  waters, 
the  seventeenth  century  was  the  age  of  piracy.  Draguts 
and  Barbarossas  no  longer  commanded  the  Turkish  fleets. 
The  naval  force  of  the  Empire,  though  still  powerful,  and 
an  equal  match  for  the  navies  of  the  West  on  great  occa- 
sions, was  cumbrous  and  unwieldy.  It  only  put  to  sea  in 
strong  force,  and,  usually,  once  or  twice  in  the  year.  The 
trade,  islands,  and  coasts  of  the  Empire  were  thus  left, 
with  no  efficient  protection,  to  be  the  prey  of  every  swift 
and  enterprising  spoiler.  Such  spoilers,  both  Moslem  and 
Christian,  soon  swarmed  in  every  sea.  Innumerable  cor- 
sairs issued  from  the  ports  of  Morocco,  Algiers,  Tunis, 
and  Tripoli,  to  prey  upon  everything  Christian  within 
their  reach  on  sea  and  land ;  while  an  equal  number  of 

^  Excepting  Timos,  which  was  held  by  the  Venetians  until  1715. 


THE  AGE  OF  PIRACY,  IS9 

Christian  corsairs,  fitted  out  by  the  Knights  of  St.  John 
at  Malta,  from  Catalonia,  Sicily,  Genoa,  Tuscany,  and  Dal- 
matia,^  plundered  with  no  less  rapacity  everything  belong- 
ing to  the  infidel.  The  poor  Greeks  were  pillaged,  kid- 
napped, and  enslaved  by  both  parties  alike  —  by  the 
Moslems  because  they  were  Christians,  by  the  Christians 
because  they  were  heretics,  and  subjects  of  the  Turk. 
So  destructive  and  frequent  did  these  inroads  become, 
that  the  Greeks  were  everywhere  compelled  to  abandon 
the  open  country  near  the  sea,  and  fix  their  abodes  in 
distant  and  secure  retreats.^ 

While  the  sea  was  thus  filled  with  freebooters,  the 
Greeks  upon  the  mainland  also  found  their  condition 
much  changed  for  the  worse.  The  Pashas  and  other  local 
officials,  no  longer  held  in  strict  subjection  by  the  central 
government,  were  allowed  to  plunder  their  subjects  and 
wage  war  upon  one  another  at  their  pleasure.  The  num- 
ber of  Turkish,  or  rather  Moslem,  landholders  had  con- 
siderably increased ;  the  janizaries,  now  settled  as  military 
colonies  in  all  the  principal  towns,  were  crowding  the 
Greeks  from  the  various  callings  which  hitherto  they  had 

^  The  pirates  of  Dalmatia,  long  ago  turned  Mohammedan,  maintained 
their  celebrity  until  the  present  century.  Mr.  Hobhouse  speaks  of  the  peo- 
ple of  Dulcigno  as  '*  six  thousand  pirates,"  and  says  that  the  inhabitants  of 
Dulcigno  and  Antivari  were  the  only  Albanians  who  were  sailors.  At  that 
time,  they  took  service  with  the  Barbary  powers,  and  with  Ali  Pasha. — 
Travels  in  Albania,  &c.,  vol.  i.  p.  146. 

Through  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries,  the  Knights  of  St. 
John  at  Malta  regularly  sold  their  ^loslem  captives  into  slavery.  The 
households  of  the  Spanish  grandees,  and  the  Spanish  and  French  galleys 
were  largely  supplied  from  this  source. — See  Ed.  Review  for  April,  1876,  p, 
230. 

•  Finlay,  pp.  103-117. 


l6o  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

largely  engrossed ;  and,  to  crown  all,  the  barbarous  expul- 
sion of  their  Moslem  brethren  from  Spain  in  1609,  h^<^ 
embittered  the  Turks  against  the  Christian  name,  and 
inspired  them  with  a  fanatical  and  intolerant  spirit,  which 
for  two  hundred  years  they  had  rarely  displayed. 

The  seventeenth  century  was  thus  a  period  of  great 
depression  and  calamity  to  the  whole  Greek  race.  Their 
trade  was  annihilated,  their  resources  straitened,  their 
numbers  diminished,  and  their  condition  rendered  in 
every  respect  troubled  and  precarious.  Never  had  they 
been  so  much  depressed  and  despised,  never  had  such 
discouragement  and  despondency  seized  upon  their 
minds,  never,  since  the  reign  of  Mohammed  II.,  had 
apostasy  been  so  alarmingly  prevalent  among  the  middle 
and  lower  classes.  "  Still  it  was  not  from  direct  oppres- 
sion that  the  number  of  Greek  renegades  was  increased 
towards  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Those 
who  quitted  the  orthodox  faith  were  led  to  take  that  step 
by  a  feeling  of  despair  at  their  despised  condition  in  soci- 
ety, and  by  a  desire  to  bear  arms  and  mix  in  active  life. 
The  spirit  of  the  age  was  military,  and  violence  was  one 
of  its  characteristics.  The  Greeks  could  only  defend  their 
families  against  the  insolence  of  the  Turks  and  the  rapacity 
of  the  Frank  corsairs  by  changing  their  religion ;  when 
galled  by  acts  of  injustice,  and  eager  for  revenge,  they 
often  flew  to  the  most  violent  and  most  effectual  remedy 
their  imagination  could  suggest,  and  embraced  Moham- 
medanism." ^ 

To  the  Greeks  of  the  islands,  however,  these  over- 
whelming calamities  of  the  seventeenth  century  proved 
1  Finlay,  pp.  i39-4a 


I 


BEGINNING  OF  BETTER  DA  YS,  i6i 

but  the  preparation  for  a  brighter  and  better  day.  The 
incessant  and  determined  warfare  waged  against  the 
Turks  in  the  waters  of  the  -^gean  by  the  Knights  of  St. 
John  and  other  Christian  corsairs,  effectually  drove  the 
Turks  from  the  islands.  No  Turkish  governor  was  found 
hardy  enough  to  hold  a  position  so  dangerous,  and  in 
many  of  the  islands  not  a  Turk  remained.  The  islanders 
were  thus  enabled  to  enter  into  an  arrangement  with  the 
Porte,  by  which,  upon  the  payment  of  a  definite  tribute, 
to  be  collected  by  the  Capitan  Pasha  on  his  annual  round, 
they  were  to  be  left,  without  the  presence  of  any  Turkish 
official,  to  manage  their  own  affairs.^  The  way  was  thus 
prepared  for  that  astonishing  development  of  which  some 
of  these  islands  were  to  be  the  theater  a  hundred  years 
later. 

As  the  janizaries  became  changed  into  a  fixed  and 
hereditary  class,  the  tribute  of  Christian  children  was  no 
longer  needed  to  fill  their  ranks.  By  the  middle  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  this  tribute  had  ceased  to  be  regu- 
larly exacted.  Only  a  few  instances  are  mentioned  in 
which  it  was  demanded  in  later  times,  the  last  being  a 
levy  of  a  thousand  Christian  children  in  1703.^ 

The  total  defeat  of  the  Grand  Vizier  Kara  Mustapha, 
before  Vienna  in  1683,  by  John  Sobieski,  King  of  Po- 
land, was  followed  by  events  of  great  importance  to  the 
Greeks.  Previous  to  this  time  the  Porte  had  assumed  a 
tone  of  contemptuous  arrogance  in  its  dealings  with  the 
Christian  powers,  which  their  faithlessness  and  pusilla- 
nimity had  gone  far  to  justify.  Never  had  the  demands 
of  the  Porte  or  the  rapacity  of  its  high  officials  been  so 
'  TenneTit,  i.  p.  179,  note.  *  Finlay,  p.  195,  and  note. 


l62  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

exorbitant  and  intolerable.  "The  Sultan's  government 
complained,  and  not  without  reason,  that  no  treaty  of 
peace  with  a  Christian  monarch  afforded  any  guarantee 
for  its  faithful  observance.  .  .  .  The  deportment  of 
the  ambassadors  of  the  Christian  powers  at  Constantino- 
ple did  not  increase  the  consideration  in  which  they  wi,re 
held.  Unwise  exhibitions  of  presumption  and  petulance 
by  some  French  ambassadors  were  not  supported  -with 
proper  firmness.  Many  scandalous  scenes  occurrod. 
The  son  of  M.  de  la  Haye,  the  French  ambassador,  was 
bastinadoed  by  the  Turks  and  his  father  imprisoned. 
Louis  XIV.  sent  M.  Blondel  as  envoy  extraordinary  to 
demand  satisfaction  for  the  insult ;  but  this  envoy  could 
not  gain  admittance  to  Sultan  Mohammed  IV.,  and  re- 
turned to  France  without  delivering  his  sovereign's  letter. 
Some  time  after,  the  younger  de  la  Haye,  who  had  re- 
ceived the  bastinado,  became  himself  ambassador,  and 
conducted  himself  in  such  a  manner  at  his  first  meeting 
with  the  Grand  Vizier,  that  he  was  pushed  off  the  stool 
on  which  he  was  seated,  and  beaten  by  the  Grand  Vizier's 
attendants.  The  Marquis  of  Nointel,  who  was  sent  to 
Constantinople  in  1670  to  repair  the  imprudences  of  his 
predecessors,  .  .  .  was  turned  out  of  the  room  by 
the  shoulders,  the  tshaous  shouting  as  he  pushed  him 
along,  'March  off,  infidel!'  The  eagerness  with  which 
the  ambassadors  of  the  Christian  powers  intrigued  and 
bribed  in  order  to  overreach  one  another  at  the  Porte,  the 
importance  they  attached  to  sitting  in  an  arm-chair  in 
public,  and  the  tricks  they  made  use  of  to  obtain  exclu- 
sive privileges,  each  for  his  own  nation,  led  the  Turks  to 
conclude  that  the  Christian  character  was  a  very  despi- 


VENETIAN  CONQUEST  OF  THE  MOREA,  163 

cable  compound  of  childish  folly  and  extreme  selfishness. 
The  Ottoman  ministers  acted  on  this  persuasion,  and 
treated  the  representatives  of  the  Christian  powers  at 
Constantinople  with  the  insolence  of  contempt,  while 
the  commerce  of  the  merchants  in  the  Empire  was  con- 
sidered as  a  fair  object  for  constant  exactions."  ^ 

Under  these  circumstances  the  Venetian  Senate  deter- 
mined to  take  instant  advantage  of  the  great  reverse  suf- 
fered by  the  Turkish  arms  in  Germany,  to  attempt  the 
recovery  of  some  portion  of  the  ground  they  had  lost. 
An  alliance  offensive  and  defensive  was  formed  with 
Germany  and  Poland,  and  war  was  declared  in  July,  1684. 
This  war  resulted  in  the  last  great  success  ever  achieved 
by  the  declining  Repubhc.  In  three  brilliant  campaigns, 
aided  by  strong  bodies  of  German  mercenaries  Jed  by 
able  German  commanders,  not  only  were  the  Turks 
wholly  driven  from  the  Morea,  but  the  power  of  the 
Porte  was  broken  in  extensive  districts  north  of  the  Gulf 
of  Corinth.  By  the  treaty  of  Carlovitz  in  T  699,  Northern 
Greece  was  restored  to  the  Turks,  while  the  Morea  re- 
mained in  the  possession  of  Venice.  The  Turks  had  been 
driven  from  the  peninsula,  but  in  their  retreat  they  had 
ravaged  and  ruined  the  country.  The  population  of  the 
Morea  before  the  war  had  been  reckoned  at  two  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  Christians  and  fifty  thousand  Moslems. 
After  the  war  but  one  hundred  thousand  remained. 

Deeply  sensible  of  the  precarious  tenure  by  which  they 
held  their  conquest,  the  Venetians  reversed  their  usual 
policy  in  the  treatment- of  their  dependencies,  and  en- 
deavored to  so  govern  the  Morea  as  to  secure  not  the 
*  Finlay,  pp    197-2CX). 


l64  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

prosperity  of  the  people  alone,  but  their  hearty  attach- 
ment to  themselves.  They  succeeded  in  giving  the 
Greeks  prosperity,  but  not  in  winning  their  affection. 
Greek  and  Latin  could  not  forget  the  strife  of  ages,  and 
dwell  together  in  unity.  Justice  was  fairly  administered, 
peace  and  good  order  were  maintained,  and  wise  com- 
mercial and  financial  regulations  were  established.  The 
good  effect  of  these  measures  at  once  appeared.  Indus- 
try revived,  the  scattered  people  returned,  immigrants 
from  neighboring  districts  flocked  into  the  Morea,  and  in 
1 70 1,  the  population  had  risen  again  to  two  hundred 
thousand  souls.  The  influence  of  the  Catholic  clergy  in 
the  Morea,  feeble  as  was  the  hold  which  they  were  able 
to  obtain  upon  the  native  population,  was  productive  of 
much  and  permanent  good.  Through  their  superior  in- 
telligence, activity,  and  devotion  to  the  duties  of  their 
calling,  the  Greek  papas  were  made  sensible  of  their  own 
ignorance  and  inferiority,  and  were  shamed  into  greater 
diligence.  Many  schools  were  established,  and  a  new 
impulse,  which  has  never  since  been  lost,  was  given  to 
education.^ 

There  was  nothing  which  impressed  the  Venetians 
more  strongly  at  this  time  than  the  invincible  repugnance 
of  the  Greeks  of  the  Morea  to  the  profession  of  arms. 
No  young  men  could  be  found,  except  among  the  war- 
like Mainats,  who  were  willing  to  serve  as  soldiers.  The 
Greeks  of  the  Morea  would  not  fight  on  any  side,  even 
for  their  own  deliverance.  The  Morea  was  prosperous 
under  Venetian  rule,  to  a  degree  probably  never  equaled 
at  any  other  time  for  the  past  four  hundred  years.     Yet 

*  Finlay,  p.  256. 


VENETIAN  CONQUEST  OF  THE  MOREA.  165 

that  rule  soon  became  exceedingly  distasteful  to  the 
Greeks.  They  hated  the  yoke  of  the  Latin  Christian 
more  than  that  of  the  Moslem  Turk.  All  classes  were 
jealous  and  suspicious.  The  higher  orders,  idle,  selfish, 
and  rapacious  as  usual,  were  restless  and  discontented. 
By  many  of  this  class  the  return  of  the  Turks  was  greatly 
desired,  as  promising  greater  freedom  and  license  to  them- 
selves, with  less  restriction  to  their  selfish,  tyrannical 
schemes. 

It  was  clear  that  the  rule  of  the  Venetians  in  the  Morea 
could  not  be  permanent,  and  events  soon  transpired  which 
brought  it  to  a  sudden  close.  From  1701  to  1713  West- 
ern Europe  was  convulsed  by  the  long  and  terrible  war 
of  the  Spanish  Succession.  From  all  participation  in 
this  war  the  Venetian  Repubhc  kept  so  timidly  aloof  that 
at  the  peace  of  Utrecht  in  1 7 1 3  she  was  left  without  an 
ally  or  a.  friend.  Meantime,  the  disastrous  defeat  of  Peter 
the  Great  by  the  Turks  in  1 7 1 1  left  the  Ottoman  govern- 
ment at  liberty  to  put  forth  its  full  strength  for  the  re- 
covery of  the  Morea.  The  Turkish  Grand  Vizier  at  this 
time  was  the  celebrated  Ali  Cumurgi,  one  of  those  able 
and  energetic  men  who  appeared  from  time  to  time 
among  the  Ottoman  officials  to  revive  the  memory  of 
greater  and  better  days.  Ali  Cumurgi  was  the  son  of  a 
charcoal  burner  of  Asia  Minor ;  but  in  childhood  he  had 
been  received  into  the  household  of  the  Sultan  and  edu- 
cated for  the  public  service.  In  June,  171 5,  Ali  Cu- 
murgi entered  Greece  with  an  army  of  seventy  thousand 
men,  while  the  Capitan  Pasha  sailed  to  co-operate  by  sea. 
To  this  overwhelming  force  the  Venetians  could  offer  no 
effective  opposition.     The  Grand  Vizier  maintained  the 


l66  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

strictest  discipline  in  his  camp,  paid  liberally  for  all  sup- 
plies, protected  the  people  from  spoliation,  and  proclaimed 
that  they  were  to  be  treated  not  as  the  enemies,  but  as 
the  subjects  of  the  Sultan.  As  the  result  of  this  wise 
policy,  the  Moreots  flocked  to  his  standard  and  filled  his 
camp  with  abundant  supplies.  The  Venetian  fortresses 
were  speedily  subdued,  and  in  one  short  and  brilliant 
campaign  the  whole  of  the  Morea  was  regained.  The 
next  year  the  Ottoman  forces  were  totally  defeated  by 
Prince  Eugene  at  the  great  battle  of  Peterwardein  on  the 
banks  of  the  Danube,  and  Ali  Cumurgi  was  among  the 
slain.  By  the  peace  of  Passarovitz,  in  171 8,  the  Morea 
was  finally  abandoned  to  the  Turks. 

The  establishment  of  the  power  of  Venice  in  the  Mo- 
rea in  1688  was  the  turning  point  in  the  fortunes  of  the 
Greeks.  Their  prospects  brightened,  their  condition  im- 
proved, and  from  that  day  they  began  slowly  but  surely 
and  steadily  to  rise. 


CHAPTER  V. 


TH1[  .ALBANIANS  OR  ARNAUTS  —  SCANDERBEG— 
ALI  PASHA  OF  YANNINA.^ 

TKt^  Albanians,*  Arnauts,  as  the  Turks  call  them,  or 
Skipet2«rs  (rock-dwellers),  as  they  call  themselves,  inhabit 
the  territory  covered  by  ancient  Epirus  and  the  country 
of  the  Illyrians  in  Western  Macedonia,  extending  from 
Montenegro  on  the  north  to  the  Gulf  of  Arta  or  Ambra- 
cia  on  the  south,  and  from  the  coast  of  the  Adriatic  on 
the  west  to  the  central  chain  of  Pindus  on  the  east. 
Epirus  is  stupendously  wild  and  mountainous,  the  very 
Switzerland  of  Greece,  yet  abounding  in  valleys  of  great 
beauty  and  fertility.  The  Ancient  Epirots  were  as  dis- 
tinct from  the  Hellenes  as  the  Albanians  are  from  the 

*  Knolles'  Turkish  History,  3  vols,  folio,  London,  1687. 
Leake's  Travels  in  Northern  Greece ;  and  Researches  in  Greece. 

Sir  John  Cam  Hobhouse  (Lord  Broughton),  Journey  through  Albania 
and  other  Provinces  of  European  and  Asiatic  Turkey. 

Mackenzie  and  Irby,  The  Slavonic  Provinces  of  Turkey  in  Europe, 
chaps,  xvii.,  xxxiii.,  and  xxxiv. 

Prof.  Max  Miiller,  Lectures  on  the  Science  of  Language ;  and  Languages 
of  the  Seat  of  War. 

Brace's  Races  of  the  Old  World. 

Gibbon's  Decline  and  Fall,  chap.  Ixvii. 

*  Mr.  Hobhouse  observes  that  the  country  began  to  be  called  Albania  in 
the  eleventh  century,  or  earlier. — ^Journey  in  Albania,  etc.,  voj.  i.  118. 


I68  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

modern  Greeks.  The  Greek  writers  accounted  them  a 
Pelasgic  race,  or  descendants  of  the  aboriginal  inhabitants 
of  the  country.  They  formed  a  cluster  of  rude  highland 
clans,  much  like  the  Highlanders  of  Scotland  a  hundred 
and  fifty  years  ago  —  brave,  warlike,  fierce,  illiterate, 
and  barbarian.  Sometimes  the  several  clans  or  tribes 
were  essentially  independent ;  sometimes  they  coalesced 
into  little  kingdoms  of  greater  or  less  extent.  In  the 
times  of  the  successors  of  Alexander  the  Great,  Epirus 
had  made  considerable  progress  in  civilization,  and  its 
kings  exerted  no  little  influence  in  the  affairs  of  Eastern 
Europe.  Pyrrhus,  one  of  the  latest  of  these  kings,  w^as  a 
man  of  eminent  ability,  and  made  both  himself  and  his 
country  illustrious.  Crossing  the  Adriatic  in  defence  of 
the  Greek  colonies  of  Southern  Italy,  or  Magna  Graecia, 
he  grappled  not  unsuccessfully  with  the  rising  power  of 
Rome,  and  won  for  himself  an  honorable  place  among  the 
great  commanders  of  the  ancient  world. 

In  the  year  167  B.  C.  the  Romans  wreaked  a  terrible 
vengeance  upon  Epirus,  destroying  seventy  towns,  and 
reducing  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  of  the  people  to 
slavery.  This  was  probably  the  only  time  that  the  Epi- 
rots  have  ever  been  thoroughly  subdued.  But  even  the 
Roman  conquest  seems  to  have  wrought  little  change  in 
their  social  condition.  They  still  retained  their  own  lan- 
guage and  their  national  manners  and  usages,  still  re- 
mained a  distinct  and  peculiar  people. 

The  question  has  been  much  discussed  whether  the 
Albanians  are  genuine  Epirots  and  Illyrlans,  or  a  new 
people,  formed  by  large  and  repeated  infusions  of  barba- 
rian elements  from  the  north.     The  question  seems  to 


THE  ALBANIANS,  169 

have  been  finally  decided  upon  evidence  furnished  by 
their  language.  Prof.  Max  Miiller  and  Prof.  Pott  deem 
it  clear  that  the  Albanian  language  is  the  true  represen- 
tative of  the  ancient  Illyrian.  The  Epirots  and  Illyrians 
were  neighbor  and  kindred  tribes,  speaking  different  dia- 
lects of  the  same  language.  It  may  now  perhaps  be 
considered  as  settled  that  the  Albanians  are  the  direct 
descendants  of  these  ancient  tribes,*  though  mingled  in 
the  course  of  ages,  especially  in  the  northern  districts, 
with  other  and  foreign  elements. 

Prof  Pott  considers  it  certain  that  the  Illyrian  is  one 
of  the  aboriginal  races  of  Europe,  and  that  if  the  term 
Pelasgi  was  ever  used  as  the  designation  of  a  particular 
people,  this  must  have  been  the  race  to  which  it  belonged. 
He  finds  reason  to  believe  that  their  numerous  tribes  ex- 
tended far  to  the  north,  even  beyond  the  Danube,  and 
that  the  Wallachians  are  lineal  descendants  from  the  sarrte 
stock.  According  to  these  views,  it  would  seem  that  the 
Illyrian  race  must  have  been  the  earliest  branch  of  the 
Indo-European  race  to  settle  in  Europe,  preceding  even 
the  Celts.'* 

The  old  division  between  Epirots  and  Illyrians  has  its 
modern  counterpart  in  the  marked  distinction  between  the 
Northern  and  the  Southern  Albanians ;  these  two  sections 
of  the  race  being  quite  dissimilar,  and  manifesting  a  strong 
mutual  dislike.  Yannina,  or  loannina,  of  which  Yannina 
is  the  vulgar  pronunciation,  is  the  capital  of  Epirus,  as 

^  Col.  Leake  observes  that  in  Epirus  and  New  Epirus  (Central  Albania) 
the  aborigines  of  the  country  have  probably  always  held  their  ground. — 
Researches  in  Greece,  p.  238. 

*  Miiller's  Lectures  on  the  Science  of  Language,  p.  201  j  and  Languages 
of  the  Scat  of  War,  pp  50-64. 

8 


I70  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

Scutari,  or  Skadar,  is  of  the  northern  province.  Until 
the  fall  of  the  famous  Mustapha  Pasha^  in  1833,  Northern 
Albania  had  been  held  for  some  centuries,  under  the 
Turks,  by  a  renegade  branch  of  a  princely  Servian  house. 
By  descent,  therefore,  Mustapha  Pasha,  like  so  many 
others  of  the  high  Ottoman  officials,  was  not  a  Turk,  but 
a  Servian. 

The  modern  Epirots  are  true  mountaineers,  light  and 
agile,  and  fight  on  foot.  They  are  more  sprightly  and 
vivacious  than  their  northern  kindred,  in  this  respect 
being  more  like  the  Greeks.  Col.  Leake  observes  that 
the  Epirots  and  mountain  Greeks  are  very  much  alike, 
though  the  Epirots  are  more  even-tempered,  prudent,  and 
faithful,  as  also  more  selfish  and  avaricious ;    that  both 

^  The  "Turk,"  who  was  sleeping  "in  his  guarded  tent,"  when  Marco 
Bozzaris  broke  in  upon  his  dream.  Scutari  (Scodra)  is  an  ancient  town,  as 
old  as  the  Roman  Empire.  Yannina  has  always  been  a  Greek  city,  with  a 
Greek  population.  It  has  been  important  for  seven  hundred  years,  and  at 
the  Turkish  conquest  stood  next  to  Thessalonica. — Leake's  Researches,  pp. 
243,  note,  and  415. 

These  apostate  Servians  of  Scutari,  the  famous  family  of  the  Bushatlia, 
were  a  powerful  and  semi-royal  house,  which  no  Sultan  for  centuries  had 
been  able  to  displace.  The  same  thing  was  true  of  the  hereditary  Pashas  of 
Uskup  in  Northern  Macedonia.  Mustapha  Pasha,  or  Skodra  Pasha,  as  the 
Turks  called  him,  a  man  not  destitute  of  ability,  or  of  culture,  was  a  power- 
ful prince,  who  could  bring  into  the  field  an  army  of  thirty-five  thousand  men. 
If  he  had  chosen  to  act  with  vigor  against  the  Greeks,  very  likely  he  might 
have  ended  the  rebellion;  as,  in  1829,  he  might  have  prevented  the  Russians 
from  passing  the  Balkans.  But  his  great  enen^y  was  not  the  Greek,  or  the 
Muscovite,  but  Sultan  Mahmoud  himself,  who  had  determined  to  destroy 
him,  with  all  the  hereditary  Pashas  of  his  class.  While,  therefore,  he  obeyed 
the  commands  of  the  Sultan  to  march,  now  southwards  against  the  Greeks, 
and  now  northwards  against  the  Russians,  and  the  rebels  of  Bosnia,  his 
chief  purpose  always  was  to  see  to  it  that  his  own  forces  were  kept  well  in 
handy  an  i  suffered  no  diminution. — See  Ranke's  Servia,  pp.  285,  334-7. 


DESPOTS  OF  EPIRUS,  171 

classes  display  the  same  religious  prejudice  and  supersti- 
tion, the  same  activity,  keenness,  and  enterprise,  and  that 
they  are  alike  hardy,  patient,  and  laborious.^  The  North- 
ern Albanians,  inhabiting  a  more  open  country,  have  re- 
ceived, in  the  course  of  ages,  a  much  larger  infusion  of 
foreign — especially  of  Slavonic — blood.  They  are  taller 
and  more  stalwart  than  the  Epirots,  as  they  are  more 
surly  and  stubborn ;  but  though  just  as  mercenary,  cruel, 
and  rapacious,  they  are  not  accounted  as  brave,  and  pre- 
fer to  fight  on  horseback. 

Of  the  history  of  the  Albanians  from  the  decline  of  the 
Roman  power  to  the  Turkish  conquest,  not  very  much 
IS  known.  They  adopted  Christianity,  and  rendered  an 
obedience  more  or  less  complete  to  the  imperial  govern- 
ment of  Rome  and  Constantinople.  They  were  after- 
wards partially  subjected  to  the  Bulgarian  and  Servian 
Empires;^  but,  defended  by  their  impenetrable  moun- 
tains and  their  indomitable  spirit,  they  seem  to  have  re- 
mained age  after  age  the  same  race  of  unconquerable, 
infusible  barbarian  mountaineers  which  they  had  been 
from  the  beginning.  When  Constantinople  was  taken 
by  the  Crusaders,  in  1204,  Michael  Angelos  Comnenus, 
a  member  of  the  imperial  family,  retired  to  Epirus,  and 
there  founded  a  little  kingdom  which  embraced  almost 
the  whole  of  Northern  Greece.  These  despots  of  Epirus, 
as  they  are  known  in  history,  retained  their  power  for  a 
hundred  and  thirty-three  years,  when  their  territory  was 
reunited  with  the  Greek  Empire. 

'  Researches  in  Greece,  pp.  251-2. 

2  Seethe  "Addtional  Note"  to  Leake's  Travels  in  Northern  Greece, 
vol.  iy.  p.  353. 


17*  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

After  the  Turkish  conquest,  the  Epirotic  kingdom  was 
revived  for  a  time  by  the  renowned  hero  Scanderbeg. 
The  Christian  name  of  Scanderbeg  was  George  Castriot. 
His  father;  John  Castriot,  was  the  hereditary  prince  of  a 
small  district  lying  between  the  mountains  of  Epirus  and 
the  Adriatic.  Hard  pressed  by  Bajazet  I.  about  the  year 
1404,  he  was  compelled  to  submit  to  the  Turks,  to  pay 
tribute,  and  surrender  his  four  sons  as  hostages.  George 
was  at  that  time  but  eight .  years  of  age.  His  sprightli- 
ness,  manly  bearing,  and  extraordinary  abilities  soon  at- 
tracted the  attention  of  the  Sultan,  who  caused  him  to  be 
circumcised,  received  him  into  the  imperial  household, 
and  educated  him  for  the  military  service.^  He  was 
thenceforth  known  by  his  Turkish  name,  Iskanderbeg,  or 
Lord  Alexander,  and  under  this  name  was  destined  to 
become  one  of  the  most  redoubtable  champions  of  the 
Christian  faith.  He  early  won  great  renown  by  his  mili- 
tary exploits,  and  was  made  commander  of  five  thousand 
Turkish  horse. 

Upon  the  death  of  John  Castriot,  Amurath  H.  caused 
the  three  older  sons  to  be  put  out  of  the  way,  and  privately 
seized  the  principality.  Iskander,  he  imagined,  he  had 
bound  securely  to  himself  But  in  this  he  was  greatly 
deceived ;  bitter  exasperation  and  thirst  for  revenge  filled 
the  mind  of  the  young  Greek,  and  he  only  waited  an  op- 
portunity to  throw  off  the  mask  and  declare  himself  the 
avenger  of  his  family.  The  opportunity  soon  came.  In 
the  confusion  following  -a  defeat  suffered  by  the  Turkish 
arms  in  the  Hungarian  war,  near  Belgrade,  Scanderbeg 
seized  the  flying  Reis  Effendi,  or  Secretary  of  State,  com- 
*  Tennent,  voL  L  pp.  167-9. 


SCANDERBEG,  173 

pelled  him  to  sign  an  order  directed  to  the  governor  of 
Croia  in  Albania,  requiring  him  to  surrender  the  city  and 
fortress  to  himself,  and  then  put  the  unfortunate  official 
to  death,  that  his  treason  might  not  be  immediately- 
known.  The  Turkish  garrisons  obeyed  the  imperial 
charter,  and  Scanderbeg  was  master  of  Albania. 

He  at  once  abjured  Islam  and  proclaimed  himself 
the  avenger  of  his  family  and  the  champion  of  the 
Christian  faith. ^  At  that  time  the  Albanians  were  all 
Christians.  They  flocked  to  his  standard,  and,  with  them, 
many  of  the  bravest  spirits  of  Western  Europe.  At  the 
head  of  these  forces,  by  his  valor,  energy,  and  great  quali- 
ties as  a  military  leader,  Scanderbeg  withstood  for  twen- 
ty-three years  the  mightiest  efforts  of  the  Turks.  The 
story  of  his  exploits,  in  the  quaint  and  prolix  narrative  of 
old  Knolles,  reads  like  a  romance  of  chivalry.'^  Accord- 
ing to  this  account,  with  almost  every  returning  year, 
Amurath  11.  and  Mohammed  II.  sent  against  Scanderbeg 
their  ablest  generals,  at  the  head  of  from  twenty  to  forty 
thousand  men,  to  meet  nothing  but  defeat  and  destruction, 
until  at  last,  in  the  fullness  of  years  and  honors,  the  old 
hero  yielded  up  his  life,  bequeathing  his  kingdom  and  his 
youthful  son  to  the  friendly  guardianship  of  the  Vene- 
tians. Modern  criticism  has  shown  that  these  early  accounts 
were  much  exaggerated  ;  but  Scanderbeg  was  unques- 
tionably one  of  the  great  men  of  his  times,  and  deserving 
of  a  place  among  the  foremost  of  the  brave  Christian 
soldiers  who  finally  checked  the  victorious  career  of  the 

^  This  part  of  the  story  of  Scanderbeg  is  told  as  correctly  as  it  is  beautv 
fally,  in  Longfellow's  Tales  of  a  Wayside  Inn. 
*  T  irkish  History,  vol.  i.  pp.  248-275. 


174  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

Turks.  He  was  buried  on  Venetian  territDry,  near  the 
waters  of  the  Adriatic;  but  the  Turks  soon  obtained 
possession  of  his  grave,  and  wrought  his  bones  into  rings 
and  amulets  in  the  hope  of  making  Scanderbeg's  fortune 
their  own. 

After  the  death  of  Scanderbeg,  Albania  became  again 
subject  to  the  Sultan,  though  the  several  tribes  and  clans 
remained  as  essentially  independent  as  before.  The 
pashaHc  of  Scutari  was  bestowed  upon  a  renegade  Ser- 
vian noble  from  Montenegro,  who,  as  has  been  already 
observed,  founded  the  house  which  reigned  in  Northern 
Albania  until  1833.  Berat,  Yannina,  and  other  towns, 
were  the  seats  of  pashalics  in  the  central  and  southern 
districts.  But  sixty  years  ago,  Col.  Leake  wrote  as  fol- 
lows of  the  Turkish  rule  in  Albania:  "  It  is  not  proba- 
ble that  the  Porte  has  ever  been  able  to  enforce  a  more 
implicit  obedience  to  its  orders  than  it  now  does,  when  it 
is  unable  to  appoint  or  confirm  any  provincial  governor 
who  is  not  a  native  of  Albania,  and  who  has  not  already 
established  his  influence  by  his  arms,  policy,  or  connec- 
tions."^ The  poHtical  condition  of  the  country  at  the 
same  time  is  thus  described  by  Mr.  Hobhouse :  **  Speci- 
mens of  almost  every  sort  of  government  are  to  be  found 
in  Albania.  Some  districts  and  towns  are  commanded 
by  one  man,  under  the  Turkish  title  of  Bolu  Bashee,  or 
the  Greek  name  of  Capitan,  which  they  have  borrowed 
from  Christendom  ;  others  obey  their  elders  ;  others  are 
under  no  subjection,  but  each  man  governs  his  ov/n 
family.  The  power  in  some  places  is  in  abeyance,  and 
although  there  is  no   apparent    anarchy,   there  are  no 

*  Researches  in  Greece,  p.  25a 


THE  ALBANIANS,  175 

rulers.  This  was  the  case  in  our  time  in  the  large  city 
of  Argyro  Castro.^  There  are  parts  of  the  country 
where  every  Aga  or  Bey,  which  perhaps  may  answer  to 
our  ancient  country  squire,  is  a  petty  chieftain,  exercising 
every  right  over  the  men  of  the  village.  The  Porte,  which, 
in  the  days  of  Ottoman  greatness,  divided  the  country 
into  several  small  pashalics  and  commanderies,  is  now 
but  little  respected,  and  the  limits  of  her  different  divi- 
sions are  confused  and  forgotten."  ^ 

The  allurements  of  mercenary  service  under  Ottoman 
officials  were  the  great  thing  which  tended  to  reconcile 
the  Albanians  to  the  Turkish  yoke.  Like  many  other 
mountaineers,  the  Albanians  delight  in  a  military  life  be- 
yond all  other  occupations,  and  are  quite  ready  to  sell 
their  valor  to  the  highest  bidder.  Albanian  irregular 
troops,  Christian  as  well  as  Mohammedan,  soon  became 
the  main  dependence  of  the  Turkish  government  in  all 
its  internal  administration.  The  Empire  was  filled  with 
their  bands,  passing  from  pasha  to  pasha — as  they  still 
do  to  a  considerable  extent,  though  less  than  before  the 

^  '*  Arghyro  Kastro  contains  4,000  houses,  two-thirds  of  which  are  Mus- 
sulman ;  but  the  Turks  and  Greeks  live  upon  nearly  equal  terms.  When 
friends  visit,  even  though  of  different  religions,  they  do  not  hide  their 
women,  but  show  them  great  respect,  rising  to  make  way  for  them;  and 
this  custom  is  observed  both  in  the  houses  and  streets.  But  .  .  .  both 
Greek  and  Turkish  women  are  in  the  same  servile  condition.  Each  head 
of  a  family  has  weight  and  influence  in  proportion  to  the  numbers  of  his 
relations  and  adherents,  in  which  are  generally  included  all  the  collateral 
branches.  The  persons  of  chief  power,  and  who  upon  ordinary  occasions 
are  looked  up  to  as  composing  the  government  of  the  olace,  are  the 
brothers  Mortezd  Bey  and  Khotad  Bey.  They  assume  the  power  of  im- 
prisoning, judging,  and  even  of  inflicting  capital  punishment." — ^Leake's 
Travels  in  Northern  Greece,  vol.  i.  p.  499. 

*  Journey  in  Albania,  &c.,  vol.  i.  pp.  141-2. 


176  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

days  of  "  reform  "  —  wherever  they  could  obtain  the 
highest  pay  or  the  best  chance  for  phinder.  These  un- 
discipHned,  untamable  mountaineers  were  a  cruel,  re- 
morseless race,  and  woe  to  the  town  or  village  which  was 
given  over  to  their  tender  mercies. 

The  temptations  of  Turkish  military  service  soon  led 
the  Albanians,  in  great  and  growing  numbers,  to  change 
their  religion.  At  the  final  subjugation  of  the  country, 
after  the  death  of  Scanderbeg,  they  were  all  Christians. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  present  century  they  were  more 
than  half  Mohammedans.^  As  the  power  in  their  native 
country  passed  more  and  more  into  Moslem  hands, 
those  great  migrations  of  Christian  Albanians  into  va- 
rious parts  of  Greece  took  place  to  which  reference  has 
already  been  made.  As  the  conversion  of  the  Moslem 
Albanians  was  altogether  from  mercenary  motives,  their 
religion,  in  many  places,  has  ever  since  been  a  strange  and 
motley  affair.  The  men  marry  Christian  wives ;  the  boys 
go  to  the  mosque,  and  the  girls  to  church ;  the  man  eats 
mutton  while  his  wife  eats  pork  from  the  same  table,  or 
even  the  same  dish.^  The  Turks  do  not  like  this  loose 
and  tolerant  spirit,  and  call  the  Albanians  all  infidels  to- 
gether. 

Moslem  rule  in  Albania  has  brought  littlesocial  degra- 
dation to  the  Christians.  The  Christians  perhaps  have 
been  a  little  more  quiet  and  agricultural  than  their  Mo- 


^  Leake's  Researches,  p.  250. 

*Id.,  p.  250;  Hobhouse's  Albania,  &c.,  vol.  i.  p.  150.  "The  Greeks 
hardly  tegard  them  as  Christians,  or  the  Turks  as  Moslems ;  and  in  fact 
they  are  a  mixture  of  both,  and  sometimes  neither." — Lord  Byron,  Notes 
to  Childe  Harold,  canto  ii. 


THE  ALBANIANS.  177 

hammedan  neighbors,  but  the  difference  has  been  small. 
Both  classes  have  retained  their  arms  and  their  military- 
habits  ;  have  found  the  same  ready  employment  in  the 
service  of  the  local  pashas ;  have  displayed  the  same  fierce, 
proud,  untamable  spirit,  the  same  intense  national  feeling. 
Ask  one  of  them  who  he  is,  and  he  will  answer,  not  I  am 
a  Turk,  a  Greek,  a  Mohammedan,  or  a  Christian,  but,  I 
am  a  Skipetar,  or  Albanian.  Christians  and  Moslems 
alike  are  accounted  the  bravest  soldiers  in  the  Empire,  and 
look  upon  all  others  as  cowards.  Both  of  them,  in  the 
good  old  times,  had  the  same  fondness  for  the  wild  and 
lawless  life  of  the  Klephts.  Some  from  almost  every  vil- 
lage were  among  the  Klephts;  almost  every  village  was 
in  either  warfare  or  alliance  with  them.  Every  spring 
two,  three,  five,  or  even  ten  hundred  men  would  assem- 
ble in  some  mountain  fastness,  and  from  thence  carry  on  a 
predatory  warfare  upon  their  own  account.  And  while 
private  stealing  was  held  in  abhorrence,  this  public  robbery 
was. looked  upon  as  lawful  and  honorable.  Among  the 
common  people  no  class  of  men  was  more  popular  than 
the  Klephts.^ 

Towards  the  close  of  the  last  century,  under  the  famous 
Ali  Pasha  of  Yannina,  Albania  became  again  for  many 
years  the  seat  of  a  really  independent  power,  of  sufficient 
importance  to  exert  a  considerable  influence  upon  public 
affairs.  Ali  Pasha^  was  born  at  Tepeleni,  a  small  town 
on  the  Viossa  (the  ancient  Aous),  twenty  miles  south-east 
from  Avlona,  about  the  year  1745.     All's  father,  grand- 

'  Hobhouse,  i.  pp.  127-140. 

2  For  the  history  of  Ali  Pasha,  see  Tennent,  chap.  xvi.  j  Leake's  North- 
em  Greece,  vol.  i.  pp.  41-2,  463-97 ;  and  Researches,  p.  409. 

.   8» 


178  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

father,  and  great-grandfather  had  been  petty  magnates, 
beys  or  pashas  in  the  neighborhood.  AH's  father  died 
when  he  was  a  Httle  child.  Upon  that  event  the  enemies 
of  the  family  came  upon  them,  despoiled  them  of  their 
power  and  possessions,  left  Ali  to  grow  up  among  Klephts 
and  brigands,  and  carried  his  mother  and  sister  into  slavery 
where  they  suffered  every  extremity  of  violation  and 
hardship.  For  this  outrage  Ali  in  later  years  inflicted 
an  awful  retribution  upon  the  people  of  the  two  offending 
towns. 

The  great  man  of  Albania  at  this  time  was  Kurd  Pasha 
of  Berat,  Dervent  Aga,  or  Dervendji  Bashi  of  Northern 
jGreece,  a  relative  of  Ali's  mother.  As  Ali  grew  to 
manhood,  his  lawless  courses  cost  him  a  long  imprison- 
ment at  Berat,  from  which  he  was  finally  delivered  by 
the  kindness  of  Kurd  Pasha.  He  then  returned  to  Tepe- 
leni,  attached  himself  to  the  local  beys,  and  rose  slowly 
to  considerable  military  importance.  About  this  time 
he  married  the  gentle  Emineh,  daughter  of  Capelan  Pasha 
of  Delvino.  Soon  after  he  procured  the  death  of  his 
father-in-law,  in  the  hope  of  succeeding  to  his  pashalic. 
Disappointed  in  this,  he  determined  to  make  himself 
master  of  Tepeleni.  By  a  characteristic  trick  he  suc- 
ceeded in  destroying  the  beys ;  their  goods  and  houses 
were  bestowed  upon  his  own  followers,  and  he  was  su- 
preme in  his  native  place.  "  He  now  employed  every 
engine  of  intrigue  and  tyranny  to  establish  and  extend  his 
power  ;  his  soldiers  he  attached  to  him  by  gold,  by  prom- 
ises, and  by  companionship ;  and  his  people  he  concili- 
ated by  an  anxiously  assumed  display  of  justice  and  im- 
partiality.    Every  step,  however,  in  his  higher  walks  of 


THE  SULIOTS,  179 

ambition  was  based  upon  the  blackest  crimes ;  in  the  hope 
of  succeeding  to  the  pashaHc  of  Argyro  Castro,  he  induced 
his  sister  Chainitza  to  unite  with  him  in  murdering  her 
husband,  and  when,  contrary  to  his  calculations,  the  office 
was  bestowed  upon  another,  Selim  Coka,  he  denounced 
him  to  the  Porte  as  a  traitor,  and  stabbed  him  with  his 
own  hand,  in  pursuance  of  the  Sultan's  firman.  For 
this  service  he  was  rewarded  with  the  pashalic  of  Triccala 
in  Thessaly,  and  subsequently  advanced  to  the  office  of 
Dervendji  Bachi." ' 

By  this  last  appointment  the  power  of  Ali  was  firmly 
established.  As  Dervent  Aga,  he  gathered  about  him  a 
strong  force,  enlisting  Moslems  and  Christians,  Klephts 
and  Greek  Armatoli,  impartially  in  his  service ;  and 
Thessaly  was  soon  reduced  to  a  condition  of  unwonted 
quiet.  His  next  attempt  was  to  obtain  the  govern- 
ment of  Yannina.  In  this,  by  his  usual  instrument- 
alities— intrigue,  gold,  and  poison — he  succeeded.  He 
was  named  Pasha  of  Yannina  in  1788,  and  thus  found 
himself  master  of  Southern  Albania.  Central  Albania, 
the  pashalic  of  Berat,  was  now  governed  by  Ibrahim 
Pasha,  son-in-law  of  Kurd  Pasha.  To  add  this  rich  and 
fruitful  province  to  his  dominions  was  the  next  object 
of  Ali.  His  schemes  in  this  direction,  however,  were  in- 
terrupted by  a  rising  of  the  Suliots,  at  the'  instigation  of 
Catherine  II.  of  Russia. 

The  Suliots,^  the  countrymen  of  Marco  Botzaris,  and 
the  bravest  of  Eastern  mountaineers,  were  a  tribe  of  Al- 
banian Christians,  numbering  about  twenty-five  hundred 

*  Tennent,  vol.  i.  p.  385-6. 

■  Leake's  Northern  Greece,  voL  i.  pp.  501-523. 


i8o  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

warriors,  and  inhabiting  a  mountainous  district,  in  itself 
an  almost  impregnable  natural  fortress,  lying  between 
Yannina  and  the  Gulf  of  Arta.  Arms  were  the  pro- 
fession, war  was  the  trade  of  the  Suliots,  and  here,  up  to 
this  time,  they  had  maintained  themselves  in  fierce  inde- 
pendence. In  eight  successive  wars  the  Suliots  had  held 
their  own  against  the  Albanian  pashas,  when,  in  1789, 
Ali  Pasha,  in  conjunction  with  his  rival,  Ibrahim  of  Berat, 
sent  against  them  an  army  of  three  thousand  men.  The 
invading  force  found  the  villages  deserted  as  usual,  and 
was  proceeding  to  burn  and  waste  the  country,  when  the 
SuHots  rushed  forth  upon  them,  and  drove  them  in  com- 
plete rout  to  the  gates  of  Yannina.  In  1792,  Ali  deter- 
mined to  make  a  second  and  desperate  effort  for  the  con- 
quest of  Suli.  Twenty- two  thousand  men  were  collected 
for  the  expedition,  and  after  a  severe  contest,  eight  thou- 
sand chosen  Albanians  succeeded  in  penetrating  the 
mountains  and  occupying  the  village  of  SuH.  But  in 
this  last  extremity,  the  Suliots,  men  and  women  together, 
assailed  the  invaders  with  such  furious  valor  that  they 
were  totally  defeated ;  twenty-five  hundred  Albanians 
were  slain  on  the  field  of  battle,  and  only  one  thousand 
returned  in  arms  to  Yannina. 

This  was  the  last  escape  of  the  heroic  mountaineers. 
In  the  year  1 800,  Ali  Pasha  was  prepared  to  assail  them  a 
third  time  with  twenty  thousand  men.  On  this  occasion, 
through  the  defection  of  one  of  their  most  prominent 
and  most  trusted  leaders,  Georgio  Botzaris,  the  grand- 
father of  Marco  Botzaris,  who  held  the  villages  in  the 
low  grounds  towards  Yannina,  and  had  charge  of  the  am- 
munition of  the  Suliots,  he  was  able  to  attack  them  un- 


THE  SULIOTS,  i8i 

pi.epared  and  without  a  leader.  But  taken  thus  at  every 
disadvantage,  so  fierce  and  stubborn  was  their  defence, 
that  it  was  only  after  four  years  of  desperate  fighting,  and 
the  suffering  of  enormous  losses,  that  Ali  was  able  to 
accomplish  his  purpose,  and  thoroughly  subdue  the  Su- 
liot  mountaineers. 

The  fate  of  the  Suliots  was  tragic  and  pitiful  in  the  ex- 
treme. Multitudes  had  fallen  in  the  long  and  terrible 
contest,  and  great  numbers  were  remorselessly  slaughtered 
upon  the  conquest  of  their  mountains.  A  band  of  two 
thousand  escaped  to  Parga,  and  another  band  of  eight 
hundred  took  refuge  at  Tzalongo,  on  the  banks  of 
the  Acheron.  Here  they  were  soon  besieged  by  an 
overwhelming  force  of  Albanians.  "  In  this  awful 
crisis  the  women  of  the  tribe  were  the  first  to  perceive 
the  hopelessness  of  their  situation,  and  sixty  of  them, 
taking  their  children  in  their  arms,  repaired  to  a  lofty 
cliff  which  overhung  the  bed  of  the  Acheron  :  the  river, 
foaming  through  its  rocky  channels,  rolled  beneath  them, 
but  at  such  a  depth  that  the  noise  of  its  current  could  be 
but  dimly  heard  from  the  towering  precipice  where  they 
were  assembled.  Here,  after  a  brief  consultation,  they 
embraced  their  infants,  and  imprinting  the  last  kiss  upon 
their  innocent  lips,  they  hurled  them  into  the  abyss  be- 
low ;  then  advancing  to  the  verge  of  the  precipice,  and 
joining  hands,  they  commenced  one  of  their  national 
dances  to  the  chanting  of  a  wild  and  melancholy  dirge, 
and  each,  as  her  turn  approached,  sprang  from  the  beetling 
rock,  till  the  last  of  the  band  had  perished."  ^ 

Upon  the  surrender  of  the  principal  stronghold,  Samu- 
^  Tennent,  voL  ii.  p.  479. 


i82  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

el  the  Calo^^r,  a  monk  who  had  acquired  great  influence 
over  the  Suliots  towards  the  close  of  the  struggle,  remain- 
ed with  five  companions  to  complete  the  transfer,  and 
receive  the  stipulated  price  for  the  ammunition  which 
was  to  be  given  up.  Two  Turks  and  a  secretary  of  Ali 
were  present  to  conclude  the  purchase.  ''  *  And  now,' 
said  the  latter  to  the  monk,  as  he  paid  down  the  stipulated 
price,  *  what  punishment,  caloyer,  do  you  imagine  the 
Vizier  has  prepared  for  you,  since  you  have  thus  foolishly 
intrusted  yourself  within  his  power?*  *  He  can  inflict 
none,'  said  Samuel,  *  that  can  have  any  terrors  for  one 
who  has  long  hated  life,  and  who  thus  despises  death ;' 
at  the  same  instant  he  fired  his  pistol  into  the  case  of 
gunpowder  on  which  he  was  seated,  a  terrific  explosion 
ensued,  and  the  monk,  the  Turk,  and  his  attendants,  were 
buried  in  the  ruins."  ^  The  feeble  remnants  of  the  tribe 
were  settled  in  locations  where  they  could  no  longer  be 
dangerous  to  the  Pasha's  government.  The  warriors 
who  had  escaped,  with  their  families,  passed  over  to  the 
Ionian  Islands,  to  be  once  more  restored  to  their  native 
mountains  in  1820,  when  Ali  Pasha,  then  in  his  own  last 
extremity,  looked  to  them  for  help  against  the  armies  of 
the  Sultan.^  Among  those  who  thus  returned  to  Suli 
were  Kitzo  Botzaris  and  his  son  Marco — a  young  man 
destined  to  stand  from  that  time  until  the  fatal  vic*-ory  of 
Karpenisi,  three  years  later,  the  bravest  and  the  noblest 
leader,  not  of  the  Suliots  alone,  but  of  the  Greek  Revo- 
lution. 

The  destruction  of  this  Christian  tribe,  which  had  so 
long  and  so  successfully  defied  the  authority  of  the  Porte, 
'  Tennent,  p.  477.  *  Howe's  Greek  Revolution,  p.  35. 


ALI  PASHA,  183 

was  welcome  news  at  Constantinople,  and  Ali  was  at  once 
rewarded  with  the  post  of  Roumeli  Valisi,  or  command- 
er-in-chief of  the   European  provinces  of  the   Empire.' 

In  this  high  office  he  moved,  in  1804,  at  the  head  ol 
eighty  thousand  men,  to  subdue  the  robbers  and  rebels 
of  Bulgaria.  Returning  the  same  year,  he  devoted  him- 
self to  the  suppression  of  the  Armatoli  and  Klephts 
throughout  his  dominions.  In  1806,  his  two  sons, 
Mouctar  and  Veli,  were  made,  the  first,  Pasha  of  Lepanto, 
the  second.  Vizier  of  the  Morea.  In  January,  18 10,  Berat 
surrendered  to  his  arms,  and  Ali  was,  in  effect.  King  of 
Greece. 

Ali  Pasha  was  an  unscrupulous,  remorseless  tyrant. 
His  career  was  marked  by  a  long  succession  of  the  most 
atrocious  crimes.  His  abilities  were  equal  to  his  villainy. 
"By  the  surrounding  Pashas  he  was  regarded  at  once 
with  fear  and  admiration  ;  they  were  in  every  point  of 
view  his  inferiors,  both  in  power  and  talent;  and  he  never 
failed  to  extract  equal  advantages  from  their  friendship 
and  hostility.  .  .  .  No  one  of  the  many  circumstances 
favorable  to  his  ambitious  policy  escaped  his  keen  and 
prying  observation ;  his  agents  were  everywhere,  and  his 
information  on  every  topic  connected  with  his  interests 
was  constant  and  correct.  With  an  unerring  perception 
of  character,  his  manner  was  accurately  suited  to  the  ex- 
igencies of  every  situation  ;  every  tone  of  expression  was 
assumed,  and  varied,  and  abandoned,  as  suited  the  emer- 
gency of  the  moment ;  and  even  those  who  suspected  the 

*  From  this  time  Ali  Pasha  was  usually  spoken  of  as  the  Vizier,  his  prop- 
er title,  as  a  Pasha  of  three  horse-tails,  having  jurisdiction  over  more  than 
one  province. 


9 


r84  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

professions  of  the  Vizier  seldom  failed  to  be  seduced  into 
acquiescence  by  his  politic  and  wily  address."  ^  He  must 
be  judged,  however,  according  to  his  circumstances,  and 
the  moral  and  social  standard  of  his  own  people.  Mr. 
Hobhouse  suggests  that  perhaps  he  was  not  more  cruel 
or  rapacious  than  was  to  have  been  expected  from  an  Al- 
banian in  his  position ;  tha.t  perhaps  a  government  like 
his  was  the  only  one  which  could  have  tamed  those  fierce 
mountaineers.^  There  were  some  good  things  about  his 
rule.  Some  roads,  bridges,  and  khans  were  built ;  robbers 
were  suppressed  and  the  highways  made  usually  secure ; 
the  country  was  opened  to  trade,  which  was  fostered  by 
some  judicious  regulations ;  a  multitude  of  beys  and  local 
chiefs,  most  of  them  lawless  and  freebooting  men,  were 
exterminated  ;  Christians  and  Moslems  were  placed  upon 
the  same  level  in  his  service ;  and,  strangest  of  all,  this 
singular  tyrant  displayed  no  little  zeal  in  promoting  the 
education  of  his  Christian  subjects,  especially  at  Yan- 
nina.^ 

In  the  main,  however,  the  government  of  Ali   Pasha 
was  a  selfish,  rapacious  tyranny  which  crushed  his  people 


*  Tennent,  ii.  p.  392. 

*  Albania,  &c.,  vol.  i.  pp.  105-13. 

*  '*  It  is  probably  rather  a  consequence  of  the  Vizier's  indifference  to  the 
distant  consequences  of  his  measures,  and  with  a  view  to  some  supposed 
immediate  advantage,  than  with  any  better  feeling,  that  he  has  always 
encouraged  education  among  the  Greeks.  He  frequently  recommends  it  to 
the  attention  of  the  bishops,  the  generality  of  whom  .  .  .  are  too  much 
disposed  to  neglect  it.  To  the  old  schoolmaster  Balano  he  often  holds 
the  same  language,  exhorting  him  to  instruct  the  youth  committed  to  his 
care  with  diligence,  to  give  them  a  good  example,  and  never  to  entertain  any 
doubts  of  receiving  his  countwiance  and  protection." — Leake's  Northern 
Greece,  vol.  iv.  p.  149. 


ALI  PASHA.  185 

to  the  earth  by  its  enormous  and  ever- increasing  exac- 
tions. Col.  Leake,  who  visited  almost  every  district  and 
corner  of  his  dominions,  found  this  everywhere  the  case. 
Everywhere  he  heard  the  same  sad  story  of  taxes  dou- 
bled, trebled,  or  quadrupled  ;  of  prominent  men  seized  and 
imprisoned  on  one  pretext  or  other  for  the  purpose  of 
extorting  money ;  of  trade  and  industry  fettered  and  de- 
stroyed ;  of  declining  prosperity,  and  diminishing  popu- 
lation. Yet  it  would  seem  that,  on  the  whole,  the  long 
reign  of  Ali  was  a  benefit  to  Greece.  The  old  local,  frag- 
mentary, barbaric  constitution  of  society  was  in  great 
measure  broken  up,  and  the  way  was  prepared  for  an  order 
of  things  more  comprehensive  and  liberal,  more  sys- 
tematic and  progressive. 

Ali  never  so  far  broke  with  the  Porte  as  to  declare 
himself  independent,  but- his  allegiance  was  little  more 
than  nominal,  and  he  was  long  looked  upon  at  Constanti- 
nople with  fear  and  distrust,  as  a  most  dangerous  man. 
At  length,  early  in  1820,  Mahmoud  II.,  in  pursuance  of 
his  purpose  to  break  down  all  the  great  feudatories  of 
the  Empire,  declared  him  fermanli,  or  outlaw,  and  sum- 
moned the  whole  strength  of  the  Empire  for  his  destruc- 
tion. The  usual  means  of  intrigue  and  bribery  were 
employed,  and  with  complete  success.  Ali's  forces  melt- 
ed away  ;  his  own  sons  deserted  him  ;  and  with  a  few  fol- 
4owers  the  old  tyrant  was  obliged  to  shut  himself  among 
his  useless  treasures  in  his  stronghold  at  Yannina.*     For 

^  Since  the  fall  of  Ali,  Southern  Albania  ha§  became  the  scene  of  the 
Kame  decay,  the  same  increasing  poverty  and  depopulation,  which  have  been 
uianifest  in  every  province  of  Mahmoud's  "reformed"  Empire. — See 
Lady  Strangford's  Eastern  Shore   of  the  Adriatic,  pp.  10-27. 


i86  THE  MODERN  CREEKS. 

nearly  two  years  the  siege  went  on,  but  early  in  1822  Ke 
surrendered  to  Kurchid  Pasha,  and  was  treacheroasly 
stabbed  to  the  heart  by  an  old  friend,  Mohammed  Pasha 
of  the  Morea. 

The  Albanians,  or  Arnauts,  number  somewhere  from 
a  million  to  a  million  and  a  half  of  souls.  They  are  a 
nation  of  soldiers.  Christians  and  Moslems  alike  have  a 
very  strong  national  feeling,  and  never  forget  their  native 
land.  Through  fierce  and  cruel  in  war,  they  are  not 
malignant  or  treacherous,  are  faithful  to  their  engage- 
ments, and  capable  of  strong  and  lasting  attachments.^ 
They  are  exceedingly  high-spirited,  carry  themselves 
proudly  and  loftily,  are  always  perfectly  at  their  ease 
in  the  presence  of  their  superiors — who  often  can  hard- 
ly be  distinguished  from  their  soldiers  in  dress  and  ap- 
pearance, yet  are  cheerfully  and  promptly  obeyed — have 
no  objections  to  being  shot,  beheaded,  oi"  even  hung,  if 
occasion  so  require,  but  will  never  endure  a  blow. 

Their  national  costume  is  picturesque ;  when  new  and 
clean  it  is  elegant,  often  rich  ;  but  in  their  personal  habits 
they  are  most  uncleanly.  They  never  wash  their  gar- 
ments, and  rarely  take  them  off  until  they  drop  to  pieces 
upon  their  persons.^  Yet  they  live  very  comfortably. 
Their  houses  a  re  very  neat,  well  swept  and  comfortable, 
usually  with  a  garden  attached,  and  are  commonly  pro- 
vided with  an  abundance  of  wholesome  food.     The  men 

^  See  Lord  Byron's  account  of  his  Albanian  attendants,  note  11  to  the 
Second  Canto  of  Childe  Harold's  Pilgrimage. 

*  For  a  full  and  excellent  account  of  the  appearance,  manners,  customs, 
and  social  conditions  of  the  Albaniaivs,  see  Hobhouse's  Albania,  &c.,  vol.  i. 
pp.  i27->4a 


THE  ALBANIANS.  187 

dislike  to  labor,  and  despise  their  priests  because  they 
are  not  soldiers.  The  women  perform  most  of  the  out- 
door labor.  They  are  tall  and  well  formed,  but  with  an 
air  indicative  of  hard  work  and  a  menial  position.  They 
are  very  brave,  and  can  fight,  in  case  of  necessity,  as 
fiercely  as  their  husbands^  They  know  little  of  conjugal 
k)ve,  and  are  little  better  than  servants  or  slaves.  "  Mr. 
Lear,  in  his  'Journals  of  a  Landscape  Painter  in  Alba- 
nia,' relates  how  he  was  shocked  by  meeting  a  number 
of  Epirot  women,  toiling  up  a  mountain  with  their  enor- 
mous burdens.  'The  fact  is,'  said  his  guide,  utterly  mis- 
taking the  cause  of  his  disapproval,  *  there  is  no  remedy, 
for  mules  there  are  none  here,  and  women  are  next  best 
to  mules.  Vi  assicuro,  Signore,  though  certainly  far  in- 
ferior to  mules,  they  are  really  better  than  asses,  or  even 
horses.'  "  *  It  is  very  singular  that  in  respect  for  and 
treatment  of  their  women,  these  once  (and  still  partially) 
Christian  mountaineers  of  Europe  should  present  so  great 
a  contrast  to  the  Druzes  and  Kurds,  those  similar  Asiatic 
tribes,  which  have  been  heathen  or  Moslem  from  the  be- 
ginning. The  social  morals  of  the  Albanians  are  bad 
enough.  The  men  care  little  for  their  wives,  and  the 
crime  against  nature  is  perhaps  nowhere  else  so  common ; 
yet  in  language  and  deportment  they  are  said  to  be  sin- 
gularly decorous,  rarely  offending  by  any  improper  act 
or  word.  They  all  carry  a  variety  of  weapons,  as  much 
for  ornament  as  use,  and  a  company  of  Albanian  shep- 
herds, as  the  traveler  meets  them  upon  the  mountains, 
present  a  very  formidable  appearance.^ 

'  Edinburgh  Review  for  April,  1863,  p.  302. 

^  •*  A  person  who  had  his  notions  of  the  pastoral  life  from  a  visit  to  Sails 


l88  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

The  Christian  Albanians  are  mostly  connected  with 
the  Greek  Church,  though  upon  the  shores  of  the  Adri- 
atic the  old  Venetian  rule  has  left  a  considerable  number 
of  Roman  Catholics.  The  Albanians  in  Greece  retain 
everywhere  their  national  language,  manners,  and  appear- 
ance, though  not  their  national  spirit.  They  mingle  but 
slowly  with  the  Greeks,  though  the  time  cannot  be  dis- 
tant when,  like  the  Gaels  and  Saxons  of  Scotland,  they 
will  become  blended  together  in  a  common  national 
career.  The  Albanian  language  seems  never  to  have 
been  written — has  neither  alphabet,  grammar,  or  diction- 
ary, a  fact  of  itself  sufficient  to  show  how  essentially  bar- 
barous the  race  has  always  remained.  But  as  the  influ- 
ences of  civilization  extend  and  strengthen  around  them, 
these  wild  mountaineers  must  ere  long  begin  to  feel  their 
beneficent  power.  The  Christian  Albanians,  many  of  them, 
made  common  cause  with  the  Greeks  in  their  struggle 
for  independence  ;  and  they  would  seem  destined  to  form 
an  important  element  in  that  civilized  and  Christian  state 
which  will  one  day  hold  the  fair  regions  of  ancient  Greece 
and  Southern  Macedonia. 

bury  Plain,  or  from  the  pleasing  pictures  of  an  Arcadian  romance,  would 
never  have  guessed  at  the  occupation  of  those  tremendous  looking  fellows. 
They  had  each  of  them  pistols,  and  a  large  knife  stuck  in  their  belts  ;  their 
heads  were  covered  and  their  faces  partly  shaded  by  the  peaked  hoods  of 
their  shaggy  capotes,  and  leaning  on  their  long  guns,  they  stared  eagerly  at 
the  Franks  and  the  umbrellas,  with  which  they  were  probably  as  much 
taken  as  were  we  at  their  uncouth  and  ferocious  appearance." — Hobhouse's 
Albania,  &c.,  vol.  i.  p.  53. 

"  The  Albanians  have  one  practice  which  might  possibly  be  objected  to  by 
persons  of  fastidious  tendencies.  They  consider  abundant  eructation  after 
eating  a  compliment  to  the  cookery  of  their  host.  After  dinner  they  like  to 
have  a  general  eructatory  set-to,  when  the  louder  and  more  frequent  thcv 
can  make  their  demonstrations  tJie  better." — Id.,  i.  42. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


THE  GREEK  AWAKENING — GREEK  ISLANDS — GREEK 
MERCHANTS  IN  EUROPE — THE  PHANARIOTS — 
EDUCATION  AND  LETTERS — COMMERCE — PREPA- 
RATION FOR  THE  REVOLUTION — THE  COMMER- 
CIAL GREEKS — THE  PRIMATES — THE  AGRICUL-' 
TURAL  PEASANTS — THE  KELPHTS — THE  HETERIA. 

As  has  been  already  observed,  the  conquest  of  the 
Morea  by  the  Venetians,  in  1685-7,  was  the  turning 
point  in  the  fortunes  of  the  Greeks.  During  the  thirty 
years*  rule  of  the  Venetians,,  the  social  and  industrial  in- 
terests of  the  Morea  received  an  impulse  which  was  not 
lost  when  the  Turks  recovered  the  country  in  1 7 1 5  ; 
while  throughout  the  Turkish  dominions  the  Greeks 
found  their  condition,  from  this  time,  sensibly  and  stead- 
ily improving.  The  Turkish  authorities  were  compelled, 
from  a  regard  to  their  own  interests,  to  adopt  a  more 
liberal  policy  towards  their  Christian  subjects.  Upon  the 
reconquest  of  the  Morea,  the  land-tax  was  remitted  for 
two  years,  and  proclamation  was  made  that  all  who 
would  settle  upon  and  cultivate  the  unoccupied  lands 
should  hold  them  free  of  taxes  for  three  years. ^     The 

*  Finlay,  p.  283. 


190  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

same  liberal  policy  was  pursued  elsewhere,  and  the  Greeks 
throughout  the  Empire  found  their  circumstances,  and 
their  relations  to  the  dominant  race,  suddenly  and  greatly 
changed.  Many  causes  were  working  together  at  this 
time  to  produce  this  result. 

In  the  first  place,  the  Greeks  were  much  benefited  by 
the  improved  condition  of  things  throughout  Europe. 
The  confusion  and  violence  which  had  so  generally  pre- 
vailed during  the  preceding  century,  especially  upon  the 
sea,  were  giving  place  to  the  quiet  and  order  of  modern 
times.  The  Barbary  corsairs  were  still  troublesome,  but 
-the  general  piracy  and  slave-catching  which  had  so  long 
and  so  terribly  wasted  the  islands  and  coasts  of  the  Levant 
had  in  great  measure  ceased.  The  Greeks  could  till  their 
deserted  fields,  and  pursue  in  peace  their  humble  coasting 
trade  from  island  to  island,  and  from  port  to  port. 

In  the  second  place,  the  Christian  subjects  of  the  Porte, 
as  the  agricultural  and  producing  class  of  the  Empire, 
had  acquired  a  new  and  greatly  enhanced  importance. 
The  Turkish  armies  no  longer  brought  back  their  im- 
mense trains  of  captives  to  fill  the  slave  market.  Slaves 
could  no  longer  be  obtained  for  the  labors  of  the  field 
and  before  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century,  predial 
slavery  had  mostly  disappeared  from  the  European  prov- 
inces south  of  the  Danube.  Turkish  landholders  were 
thus  compelled  to  depend  upon  the  rayahs  for  the  culti- 
vation of  their  estates.  The  rayahs  on  their  part  obtained 
for  themselves  very  favorable  terms.  The)/  were  gener- 
ally able  to  commute  for  all  claims  upon  them*  by  fixed 
and  definite  payments  in  money  or  in  produce,  and  so 
became  in  fact  and  in  law  the  owners  of  the  lands  they 


THE  GREEK  AWAKENING,  191 

tilled,^  Villanage  and  serfdom,  under  the  Turks,  the 
rayahs  had  never  known  ;^  the  tribute  of  Christian 
children  had  ceased,  and  the  Greeks  were  now  approxi- 
mating to  the  condition  of  a  freeholding,  independent 
yeomanry.  Early  in  the  eighteenth  century  the  results 
of  this  change  began  to  appear.  As  the  Greeks  became 
free  laborers,  so — slowly,  feebly,  partially,  it  is  true,  but 
really  and  increasingly — they  began  to  feel  the  sentiments 
of  freemen.  The  change  was  manifest  in  a  higher  and 
bolder  spirit,  in  awakening  enterprise,  in  kindling  desires 
for  material  and  social  improvement,  in  a  revival  of  na- 
tional feeling,  and  a  deep  and  powerful  quickening  of  the 
national  life.  "  No  power  could  now  have  enforced  the 
collection  of  a  tribute  of  Greek  children."^  The  obse- 
quious prelates  still  inculcated  faithful  and  implicit  obe- 
dience to  the  Porte  as  the  defender  of  the  orthodox  faith,^ 
but  the  people  were  beginning  to  reject  these  teachings, 
and  to  be  less  patient  and  contented  under  the  Turkish 
yoke. 

From  this  time,  again,  as  the  Greeks  were  steadily 
rising,  so  the  Turks  were  steadily  sinking.  The  spahis, 
no  longer  enriched  by  the  booty  of  constant  and  success- 
ful wars,  were  growing  poor ;  and  ere  long  the  Turkish 
population  in  the  country  districts  began  to  decline.  The 
Turks  had  lost  their  prestige,  not  with  the  people  of 
Western  Europe  alone,  but  in  a  measure  also  with  their 
Christian  subjects.  The  power  of  the  Sultan  no  longer 
inspired  the  Greeks  with  submissive  and  hopeless  awe ; 

*  Finlay,  p.  281. 

■  Creasy,  vol.  i.  pp.  328-30. 

*  Finlay,  p.  281. 

*  Tennent,  vol.  ii.  p.  55;  Finlay,  p.  283. 


199  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

it  no  longer  seemed  to  them  so  mighty,  so  irresistible,  so 
almost  divine,  as  it  had  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  before. 
The  idea  of  a  coming  deliverance,  and  of  a  national 
destiny  of  their  own,  was  no  longer  impossible ;  and  it 
was  not  long  before  that  idea  began  to  be  cherished  by 
some  of  the  more  advanced  and  intelligent  among  them 
with  a  cheerful  hope.  After  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century  the  lower  classes  of  the  Turks  were,  in  general, 
no  better  off,  in  many  districts  oT  the  Empire  they  were 
worse  off,  than  the  Greeks.  "  The  Turkish  peasant  and 
trader  suffered  quite  as  much  from  fiscal  exactions  as  the 
Greek,  and  the  political  obstacles  to  his  rise  in  the  social 
scale  were  generally  greater.  Few  native  Turks  of  the 
provinces  ever  acquired  as  much  influence  over  the  pub- 
lic administration  as  was  systematically  and  permanently 
exercised  by  the  Phanariots.  The  local  authorities  of 
the  Mussulman  population  in  the  rural  districts  rarely 
possessed  the  same  power  of  defending  the  people  from 
injustice  as,  and  they  certainly  possessed  fewer  rights  and 
privileges  than,  the  Greek  communities.  It  is  not,  there- 
fore, surprising  that  the  Greeks  were  superior  in  social 
and  political  civilization  to  the  Turks."  ^  During  the 
long  reign  of  Ali  Pasha,  it  was  a  prime  feature  of  his 
policy  to  plunder  and  break  down  all  wealthy  and  in- 
fluential Turks,  and  by  the  beginning  of  the  present  cen- 
tury the  great  majority  of  the  Turkish  population  of 
Greece  proper  had  sunk  to  a  very  low  and  thriftless  coil- 
dition. 

^  Finlay,  p.  342.  See  also  Leake's  Asia  Minor,  p.  7 ;  Morea,  vol.  i.  pp. 
221,  400,  and  431 ;  and  Northern  Greece,  vol.  iv.  pp.  222,  279,  325,  and 
357. 


THE  GREEK  ISLANDS,  193 

Before  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century,  there 
were  two  classes  of  Greeks  who  had  enjoyed  positions 
exceptionally  advantageous,  and  were  already  far  in  ad- 
vance of  the  great  majority  of  their  countrymen.  First, 
there  were  the  inhabitants  of  some  of  the  islands,  espe- 
cially Scio  and  Tinos.  The  large  and  fertile  Island  of 
Scio  has  been  highly  favored  by  nature.  Almost  all  its 
productions  are  of  such  superior  quality  as  to  be  eagerly 
sought  for  in  the  markets  of  the  world.  Wrested  from 
the  Greek  Empire  by  the  Genoese,  it  passed,  in  1346, 
into  the  hands  of  a  trading  company,  the  Maona  of  the 
Justiniani,  who  governed  the  island,  first  under  the 
Genoese  and  afterwards  under  the  Turks,  for  two  hun- 
dred and  twenty  years.  So  wise  and  liberal  was  the 
government  of  these  merchants,  that,  under  their  rule, 
the  island  always  enjoyed  a  remarkable  degree  of  pros- 
perity;  and  when  in  1566  Scio  was  reduced  to  full  de- 
pendence upon  the  Porte,  its  condition  was  not  greatly 
changed.  Until  the  Greek  Revolution  in  1820,  this 
island  remained  one  of  the  richest,  most  prosperous,  and 
most  cultivated  communities  of  the  East.  The  great 
prosperity  and  superiority  of  the  Sclots,  however,  was 
owing  not  so  much  to  their  peculiar  privileges  as  to  their 
social  and  moral  character.  They  were  honest,  virtuous, 
and  diligent.  Industry  was  held  in  universal  honor 
among  them,  and  there  was  no  class  of  wealthy  young 
men  who  disdained  to  labor  with  their  own  hands.  The 
secret  of  all  this  was  the  excellent  moral  and  social  train- 
ing which  the  Sciots  received,  generation  after  generation, 
in  their  own  families.  It  was  this  admirable  domestic 
education  which  placed  the  people  of  this  island  in  the 

9 


194  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

van  of  their  countrymen,  and  prepared  them  to  take  a 

leading  part  in  the  grand  development  of  the  eighteenth 
century.*  Tinos  was  far  less  favorably  situated  than 
Scio,  but  its  inhabitants  were  marked  by  the  same  vir- 
tue and  industry,  the  same  high  social  and  moral  char- 
acter. 

Secondly,  there  was  the  immense  number  of  self-ex- 
patriated Greeks,  who,  for  purposes  of  trade,  had  located 
themselves  either  temporarily  or  permanently  in  almost 
every  part  of  Europe.  The  manufactures  and  trade  of 
the  Greeks,  although  greatly  depressed  in  the  seventeenth 
century,  had  never  been  intermitted,  had  been  at  all 
times  considerable  and  important.  The  manufactures  of 
the  Greeks  were  carried  on  privately  in  the  dwellings  of 
the  artisans.  The  Sciots  were  famous  for  their  skill  in 
dyeing  silk  and  cotton  in  brilliant  colors,  and  in  working 
these  materials  into  various  costly  fabrics.  Similar  indus- 
tries were  diligently  pursued  upon  the  mainland  at  many 
different  places.  Colored  leathers,  cotton  yarn  in-  great 
quantities,  and  silk,  cotton,  linen,  and  woolen  goods  of  va- 
rious descriptions,  were  produced  and  sent  forth  to  the 
markets  of  the  world.  Before  the  middle  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  the  manufacturers  of  Manchester  were  de- 
pending for  the  supply  of  cotton  yarn  upon  the  spindles 
.  of  Greece.  ^ 

The  trade  sustained  by  these  manufactures  was  largely 
carried  on  overland  by  traveling  merchants  who  made 
their  way  to  Hungary,  Austria,  Poland,  Germany,  and 
indeed  to  almost  every  part  of  Europe,  and  by  wealthy 
Greeks  who  settled  in  ever-increasing  numbers  at  almost 

^  Finlay,  pp.  86-91,  283-289.  *  Id.,  p.  187. 


GREEKi^  IN  WESTERN  EUROPE.  195 

every  important  commercial  center.^  When  in  the  sev- 
enteenth century  the  commerce  of  the  Greeks  by  sea  was 
destroyed  by  piracy,  this  overland  traffic  still  continued, 
and  being  comparatively  secure,  was  no  doubt  greatly  ex- 
tended. At  the  beginning  of  the  present  century  Col. 
Leake  found  the  people  of  the  mountain  villages  in  the 
central  and  western  districts  of  Northern  Greece  very 
generally  engaged  in  the  pursuits  of^rade  away  from 
home.^  Many  were  located  at  various  seaports  and  com- 
mercial centers,  many  were  traveling  merchants,  many 
were  shopkeepers  in  the  towns  of  Italy  and  elsewhere, 
while  others  of  the  poorer  class  pursued  a  humble  carry- 
ing trade  nearer  home.  Of  these  commercial  Greeks 
there  were  many  wealthy  families  permanently  settled 
abroad,  while  the  greater  number  returned  with  their 
gains  to  spend  the  evening  of  their  days  at  home.  This 
state  of  things  had  existed  for  a  great  length  of  time. 
There  were  towns  which  had  already  become  enriched  by 
this  foreign  trade,  and  had  reached  the  height  of  their 
prosperity  at  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century.^ 

Before  the  year  1700,  there  were  thus  a  vast  multitude 
of  Greeks  scattered  through  almost  every  part  of  West- 
ern and  Northern  Europe,  many  of  them  wealthy,  all  of 
them  eager,  inquisitive,  and  quick  of  apprehension,  re- 
ceiving new  ideas  and  impressions,  deeply  sensible  of  the 

'  "  Meletius,  in  his  Geography,  written  about  the  beginning  of  the  last 
century,  estimates  the  number  of  absentees  in  Austria  alone  at  80,000  fam- 
ilies ;  .  .  .  but  this  computation  is  evidently  exaggerated. '' — Tennent, 
ii.  p.  284,  note. 

2  Northern  Greece,  vol.  i.  pp.  275,  296,  307,  310,  392-3;  vol.  iii.  p 
299 ;   vol.  iv.  p.  207.     See  also  Hobhouse,  vol.  i.  pp.  72-4. 

'Northern  Greece,  i.  343. 


196  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

depressed  condition  of  their  race,  and  already  feeling  nev^ 
hopes  and  aspirations  for  the  future.  These  expatriated 
Greeks  never  lost  their  national  feeling,  never  ceased  to 
cherish  a  strong  affection  for  their  native  land ;  and 
their  earnest  zeal  and  generous,  patriotic  action  were 
among  the  most  potent  instrumentalities  in  the  great 
awakening  of  their  people  in  the  eighteenth  century. 

About  the  same  time  rose  the  Phanariots;^  a  class  of 
Greek  officials  who  soon  attained  a  most  commanding  po- 
sition in  the  Ottoman  administration,  and  who,  although 
too  often  thoroughly  detestable  in  their  moral  and  social 
character,  exerted  a  powerful  influence  upon  the  destinies 
of  their  race.  Precluded  by  their  pride,  as  well  as  their 
religion,  from  learning  the  languages  of  the  infidel,  in 
their  negotiations  with  the  Christian  powers  the  Turks 
had  always  been  obliged  to  depend  upon  interpreters. 
But,  until  the  last  quarter  of  the  seventeenth  century,  these 
official  interpreters,  or  dragomans,  had  been  mere  slaves 
of  the  Sultan,  without  honor  or  influence.  The  acces- 
sion of  Panayotaki  to  this  office,  in  1669,  marked  a  com- 
plete change  in  the  management  of  the  foreign  affairs  of 
the  Porte,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  Phanariot  power.^ 

Panayotaki  was  a  Sciot  by  birth,  and  had  studied  med- 
icine and  philosophy  in  the  universities  of  Italy.  He 
was  a  man  of  ability  and  learning,  and  was  yet  more  dis- 
tinguished among  the  venal  Greeks  of  Constantinople 
for  his  manly  character,  and  those  high  moral  qualities 
at  that  time  so  characteristic  of  the  people  of  his  native 

^  So  called  from  the  Phanar,  the  quarter  of  the  capital  occupied  by  th« 
Patriarch  of  Constantinople  and  the  leading  Greeks. 
*  Tennent,  chap.  xii. ;  Finlay,  pp.  293-9. 


THE  PHANARIOTS,  199 

island.  By  his  skill  in  medicine,  and  his  knowledge  of 
astrology,  then  very  popular  among  the  Turks,  he  won 
the  favor  of  the  able  and  virtuous  Grand  Vizier,  Achmet 
Kueprili,  whom  he  attended  as  his  dragoman  upon,  his 
great  expedition  to  Candia,  in  1667.  Here  a  brilliant 
opportunity  opened  before  him.  By  a  bold  and  skillful 
stratagem  he  procured  tlie  surrender  of  the  city,  and  so 
ended  this  long  and  disastrous  war  of  twenty-two  years. 
This  great  service  raised  Panayotaki  to  a  position  of  the 
highest  favor  and  influence  with  the  Porte. 

At  this  time  the  foreign  relations  of  the  Empire  had 
become  very  complex  and  delicate  ;  and  for  their  suc- 
cessful management  there  was  need  of  a  high  degree  of 
intelligence  and  diplomatic  skill — qualities  in  which  the 
Turks  were  almost  entirely  wanting,  Panayotaki,  there- 
fore, had  no  difficulty  in  convincing  Kueprili  and  his 
master,  Mohammed  IV.,  that  the  important  office  of 
official  interpreter  could  no  longer  be  safely  intrusted  to 
a  mere  slave.  As  the  result,  Panayotaki  was  himself 
raised  to  the  post  of  Divan  Terziman^  or  Dragoman  of 
the  Council,  with  a  rank  among  the  highest  officials  of 
the  Empire. 

From  this  time  the  Dragoman  of  the  Council  was 
really  the  Foreign  Secretary  of  the  Porte.  Through 
him  all  treaties  were  negotiated,  all  transactions  with  for- 
eign states  were  conducted.  In  influence  with  the  ad- 
ministration, in  patronage,  and  in  substantial  power,  the 
State  Dragoman,  if  an  able  and  judicious  man,  almost 
rivaled  the  Grand  Vizier  himself  As  the  Turks  knew 
nothing  of  foreign  afTairs,  and  little  of  trade,  with  the 
Divan    Terziman  rested  the   appointment  of  a   Greek 


198  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

charge  d'affaires  at  every  foreign  capital,  and  of  consuls 
and  vice-consuls  at  every  seaport  and  commercial  town. 
Pursuing  the  same  policy  still  further,  Mohammed  IV. 
appointed  a  second  officer  of  similar  character,  the  Drag- 
oman of  the  Fleet,  the  Interpreter  of  the  Capitan  Pasha 
upon  his  annual  round,  whose  power  soon  became  very 
formidable  to  the  Greeks  of  the  islands  and  coasts. 

To  Panayotaki  succeeded  Alexander  Mavrocordato, 
also  a  Sciot,  and  one  of  the  most  illustrious  Greeks  whose 
names  adorn  the  Turkish  annals.  Mavrocordato  was  a 
physician,  and  was  as  eminent  for  his  learning  as  for  his 
ability  and  high  moral  character.  He  was  familiar  with 
eight  languages,  had  studied  medicine  in  Italy,  had 
written  an  able  treatise  in  Latin  upon  the  circulation  of 
the  blood,  and  had  lectured  with  success  at  Constanti- 
nople upon  the  same  subject.^  As  Dragoman  of  the 
Council,  he  rose  to  a  position  of  most  commanding  in- 
fluence. At  the  treaty  of  Carlowitz  in  1699,  he  repre- 
sented the  Porte  as  Minister  Plenipotentiary,  and  received 
the  titles  of  Bey,  and  Mahremi  Esrar^  or  Depositary  of 
Secrets,  which  descended  to  his  successors.  But  the 
fairest  title  of  Alexander  Mavrocordato  to  the  grateful 
remembrance  of  posterity,  is  derived  from  his  wise,  gen- 
erous, and  untiring  efforts  for  the  improvement  of  his 
countrymen.  He  fostered  the  schools  already  existing, 
especially  the  seminary  at  Yannina,  and  obtained  per- 
mission to  establish  others.  "  During  the  course  of  a 
long  life,  his  wealth  and  his  energies  seemed  devoted  ex- 
clusively to  the  intellectual  wants  of  his  countrymen. 
From  the  institutions  which  he  supported  or  ^established, 
*  Tennent,  vol.  ii.  pp.  290-1. 


THE  PHANARIOTS,  199 

issued  a  crowd  of  enlightened  scholars,  who,  after  com- 
pleting their  studies  in  Europe,  returned  to  devote  their 
exertions  to  the  furtherance  of  the  cause  which  had  con- 
ferred on  them  their  own  distinction.  .  .  .  He  died 
in  A.  D.  1709,  leaving  behind  him,  according  to  Procopi- 
ces,  immense  wealth,  and  a  reputation,  even  to  old  age, 
unsullied  by  a  blot."  * 

In  17 1 6,  the  fabric  of  Phanariot  power  was  completed 
by  the  determination  of  the  Porte  to  appoint  the  Hospo- 
dars  of  Wallachia  and  Moldavia  from  the  number  of  its 
faithful  Greek  servants  at  Constantinople.  From  this 
time,  for  a  hundred  years,  these  important  tributary 
sovereignties  were  held  by  Phanariot  nobles,  and  became 
the  means  of  opening  the  flood-gates  of  venality  and  cor- 
ruption upon  the  higher  classes  of  the  Greeks,  A  bound- 
less field  was  opened  to  the  ambition  and  cupidity  of  the 
youthful  Greek.  As  Dragoman  of  the  Council  or  the 
Fleet,  he  might  hope  to  rival  the  first  grandees  of  the 
Empire  in  wealth  and  political  influence;  as  Hospodar 
of  Wallachia  or  Moldavia,  he  might  aspire  to  reign  over 
a  great  principality  in  royal  magnificence  and  power;, 
and  under  these  chief  magnates  of  his  race,  the  places  of 
power  and  profit  open  to  his  ambition  were  numberless 
and  infinitely  various.  The  trade  of  the  Empire  and 
the  foreign  affairs  of  the  government  passed  almost  wholly 
under  the  control  of  the  Phanariots.  They  had  their 
spies,  their  diplomatic  agents,  and  their  subordinate  offi- 
cials everywhere.  In  their  service  appeared  on  every 
hand  openings  for  the  wily  and  rapacious  Greeks. 

Nor  was  the  influence  of  the  Phanariots  limited  to  the 
1  Tennent,  vol.  ii.  291-2,  and  note. 


^oo  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

commercial  and  foreign  affairs  of  the  Empire.  They 
were  the  bankers  and  financiers  of  the  capital ;  and,  as 
such,  soon  acquired  a  control  hardly  less  complete  over 
the  internal  administration.  Every  post  and  office  was 
to  be  bought,  and  he  who  could  pay  for  it  the  highest 
price  could  command  it.  The  Phanariot  bankers  were 
the  men  who  could  bid  highest,  and  although  they  could 
not  hold  the  offices  themselves,  they  had  their  candidates 
and  proteges,  for  whom  they  bought  their  offices,  whose 
action  they  controlled,  and  from  whom  they  exacted 
ample  returns.  To  secure  these  numerous  and  glitter- 
ing prizes,  every  instrumentality  of  cunning,  intrigue,  and 
the  most  shameless  corruption  was  brought  into  constant 
and  vigorous  use.  Perhaps  a  more  selfish,  rapacious, 
and  worthless  set  of  public  men  has  never  existed  than 
these  Phanariot  nobles  of  the  last  century.  "  A  perpet- 
ual smile  of  adulation,  a  ready  laugh,  a  bow  of  obsequi- 
ousness, a  tongue  tipped  with  flattery,  and  an  eye  twink- 
ling with  cunning,  completed  the  picture  of  the  Phana- 
riot"^ Yet,  after  all,  their  power  was  but  the  power  of 
-favored  slaves.  Their  wealth  and  their  very  lives  were 
at  the  mercy  of  proud,  unscrupulous  masters,  a  word 
from  whom  could  at  any  time  send  them  to  instant  death. 
After  the  full  establishment  of  their  power,  the  Phana- 
riots  did  nothing  directly  and  intentionally  for  the  good 
of  their  countrymen.  Their  ends  were  thoroughly  selfish, 
their  influence  was  evil  and  debasing  to  the  public  mind. 
Yet  by  their  restless,  unbounded  activity,  unscrupulous  and 
vicious  as  it  was,  a  great  impulse  was  given  to  the  cause 
of  education  among  the  Greeks,  while  (a  more  doubtful 

1  Tennent,  voL  iL  p.  51. 


EDUCATION  AND  LETTERS,  2oi 

benefit)  there  was  manifest  among  the  wealthier  classes  a 
gregtt  advance  in  social  culture  and  refinement  of  man- 
ners. A  more  positive  and  more  important  advantage 
which  resulted  to  the  Greeks  from  the  power  of  the 
Phanariots,  was  the  awakening  in  the  minds  of  the  whole 
nation  of  a  sense  of  pohtical  importance  and  conscious 
strength.  After  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  the 
Greeks  were  no  longer  the  submissive,  unquestioning 
slaves  of  the  Sultan.  They  had  begun  to  scrutinize 
sharply  the  grounds  of  the  authority  by  which  they  were 
held  in  bondage,  were  already  preparing  to  measure  their 
strength  with  their  oppressors. 

Through  the  whole  of  the  eighteenth  century  educa- 
tion, intelligence,  and  letters  were  making  rapid  progress 
among  the  Greeks.  Before  the  year  1700  the  commer- 
cial Greeks,  settled  so  numerously  in  the  cities  of  North- 
ern and  Western  Europe,  had  begun  to  establish  schools 
at  the  places  of  their  residences  for  the  education  of  their 
own  children  and  their  youthful  countrymen,  and  were 
already  affording  that  steady  and  generous  support  to  the 
cause  of  education  and  letters  in  their  native  land  which 
has„  never  ceased  to  the  present  time.^  Seminaries  had 
been  founded  at  Constantinople,  Mount  Athos,  Yannina, 
Smyrna,  Patmos,  Corfu,  Zagora,  Larissa,  Moskopoli,  Bu- 
charest, and  other  places,  which  were  numerously  and 
zealously  attended,  and  the   youth   of   Constantinople, 

^  Baron  Simeon  Sina,  a  Greek  banker  of  Vienna,  worth  thirty-five  or 
forty  millions  of  dollars,  died  early  in  1876.  His  father,  who  died  in  1856, 
after  a  residence  of  twenty-five  years  in  Vienna,  was  a  Greek  of  Seres  in 
Macedonia.  The  elder  Baron  Sina  was  one  of  the  half  dozen  richest  bank- 
ers of  the  continent ;  and  was  well  known  for  his  munificent  benefactions  to 
the  cause  of  education  in  Greece,  especially  to  the  University  of  Athens. 

9* 


202  THE  MODEI.N  GREEKS. 

Smyrna,  and  the  Islands,  as  we  have  already  seen  in  the 
case  of  Panayotaki  and  Mavrocordato,  had  begun  to  fre- 
quent the  universities  of  Western  Europe,  especially  those 
of  Italy.  ^  Previously,  Greek  education  had  been  almost 
entirely  limited  to  the  service  of  the  Church,^  and  a  Httle 
theology  and  ecclesiastical  history;  but  from  this  time  it 
became  more  liberal  and  comprehensive. 

A  native  literature  began  to  be  formed.  Alexander 
Mavrocordato,  besides  his  work  on  the  circulation  of  the 
blood,  which  was  published  in  Latin,  Greek,  and  Turkish, 
wrote  treatises  on  Logic,  Rhetoric,  and  Metaphysics,  Com- 
mentaries on  some  of  the  Greek  Classics,  and  a  History 
of  the  Jews.  Valuable  works  were  translated  into  Greek 
from  the  languages  of  Western  Europe ;  and,  most  impor- 
tant of  all,  modern  Greek,  the  dialect  of  the  common  peo- 
ple, began  to  be  cultivated  as  a  literary  language.  Native 
poets  sprang  up  in  all  directions,  and  every  mountain  and 
valley  of  Greece  resounded  with  songs  and  ballads,  ex- 
pressing all  the  joys  and  sorrows,  the  hopes  and  fears,  the 
passions  and  aspirations  of  the  popular  mind. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  last  century  and  the  first  twenty 
years  of  the  present  century,  this  intellectual  and  Hterary 
activity  became  very  great.  An  eager  enthusiasm  had 
seized  upon  the  national  mind ;  the  schools  and  colleges 
were  crowded  with  pupils;  science,  history,  and  belles- 
lettres  were  diligently  studied ;  and  a  multitude  of  learned 

^  Tennent,  vol.  ii.  pp.  283-8. 

*  **  By  the  word  liturgy,"  says  Mr.  Waddington,  "  the  Greeks  under* 
stand  only  the  Communion  Service ;  and  as  to  the  rest,  it  varies  every  day 
in  the  year,  and  every  part  of  the  day ;  so  that  the  whole  body  of  the  ser- 
vice is  sufficient  to  fill  huenfy  folio  volumes,  besides  one  siffujkr  volunw 
containing  directions  for  the  use  of  the  rest" — Tenneut,  iL  287,  note. 


THE  GREEK  PEASANTRY.  203 

scholars  and  able  authors,  teaching  and  wiiting,  with  a 
wise  and  earnest  patriotism,  in  the  speech  of  the  common 
people,  gave  form  and  charcter  to  the  Romaic  language, 
enriched  it  with  large  and  various  stores,  and  founded  the 
literature  of  modern  Greece.^ 

It  is  to  be  observed,  however,  that  this  social  awaken- 
ing and  intellectual  activity  were  by  no  means  equally 
disseminated  throughout  the  mass  of  the  Greek  nation. 
The  enthusiastic  youth  who  filled  the  schools  and  colleges 
were  drawn  mostly  from  the  principal  cities  and  a  few 
favored  islands.  They  belonged  largely  to  the  class  most 
demoralized  by  Turkish  and  Phanariot  influence,  and  with 
all  their  intellectual  progress,  their  moral  character  re- 
mained deplorably  low.  In  the  first  ten  years  of  the 
present  century,  Col.  Leake  found  the  agricultural  peas- 
antry of  the  continent — then  as  always  the  true  bone  and 
sinew,  the  real  heart  and  life  of  the  nation — still  crushed 
by  heavy  burdens,  oppressed  by  their  Turkish  masters, 
a»:d  worse  oppressed  often  by  their  own  primates  and 
archons,  with  few  schools,  and  those  of  the  poorest  charac- 
ter ;  with  almost  nothing  to  read,  if  their  instruction  had 
been  ever  so  thorough  ;  apathetic,  unintelligent,  unaspir- 
ing.*^  Yet  even  these  oppressed  masses  of  the  common 
people,  dumb  and  helpless  •  as  they  appeared,  had  been 
penetrated  by  the  fermenting  leaven  of  new  ideas ;  and 
when  the  hour  of  the  decisive  struggle  came,  they  were 
ready  to  throw  themselves  into  it,  not  with  the  high  spirit 
and  reckless  bravery  which  have  marked  the  struggles 

^  Tennent,  chap,  xviii. ;  Finlay,  pp.  347-50. 

*  Researches,  pp.  d-j,  227,  231;  Morea,  i.  pp.  61,  177^*  Nor'hem 
Greece,  i.  pp.  331-2,  iv.  387-8. 


204  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

for  freedom  of  more  favored  peoples,  but  with  a  padeut, 
uncomplaining,  self-sacrificing,  and  endless  devotion, 
which  no  stress  of  calamity  or  suffering  could  exhuust, 
which  could  not  be  overcome. 

Those  who  did  most  for  the  emancipation  and  n  gen- 
eration of  Greece  were  residents,  not  in  the  East,  i.nder 
the  corrupting  influences  of  Turkish  power,  but  in  the 
freer  and  healthier  atmosphere  of  the  West.  The  most 
faithful  and  the  most  munificent  patrons  of  learning  and 
letters  in  Greece  were  the  Greek  merchants  of  Austria, 
Germany,  and  Holland.  Rhiga,  the  founder  of  the  Hete- 
ria,  the  popular  poet  whose  songs  stirred  most  deeply 
and  powerfully  the  minds  of  his  countrymen,  lived  at 
Vienna. ^  Adamantios  Koraes,  most  illustrious  name  of 
all,  the  father  and  legislator  of  Modern  Greek,  the  ablest 
and  most  revered  instructor  and  guide  of  the  unfolding 
intellect  of  his  native  land,  although  a  Sciot  by  parent- 
age, and  born  at  Smyrna  (in  1748),  passed  all  the  active 
years  of  his  long  and  noble  Hfe  at  Amsterdam,  Mont- 
pelier,  and  Paris.^  It  is  estimated  that  at  the  beginning 
of  the  present  century,  fifty  thousand  of  the  wealthiest 
Greek  families  were  settled  in  Northern  and  Western 
Europe.^  Happy  was  it  for  Greece  that  in  this  time  of 
her  awakening  from  the  torpor  of  ages,  when  by  reason 
of  her  weakness  and  inexperience,  of  the  evil  and  cor- 
rupting influences  which  surrounded  her,  of  the  measure- 
less difficulties  which  beset  her  path,  and  of  the  cruel 
bondage — a  bondage  moral  and  social  as  well  as  polit- 
ical— by  which  her  energies  were  fettered,  she  stood  so 

1  Tennent,  ii.  425-3a  2  \^^^  jj^  523-38. 

*  Leake's  Researches,  p.  67. 


GREEK  COMMERCE.  20$ 

much  in  need  of  help,  she  had  these  children  of  her  bosom 
dwelling  in  .happier  lands,  and  free  from  the  evils  by 
which  she  had  so  long  been  oppressed,  to  extend  to  her 
their  generous  sympathies  and  their  helping  hands. 

After  the  middle  of  the  last  century  the  commerce  of 
the  Greeks  began  to  show  signs  of  reviving  life.  Its 
movements  were  at  first  cautious  and  timid,  but  in  the 
course  of  twenty-five  years  it  had  risen  to  considerable 
importance.  Events  then  transpired  which  gave  it  a  sud- 
den and  astonishing  development.  By  the  treaties  of 
1779  and  1783,*  the  Greek  vessels  secured  the  protection 
of  the  Russian  flag,  and  were  allowed  to  arm  themselves 
for  protection  against  pirates.  Then  came  the  wars  re- 
sulting from  the  French  Revolution,  and  for  twenty-five 
years  the  Greeks  were  able  to  monopolize  the  corn  trade 
of  Russia  and  the  carrying  trade  of  the  Levant,  which 
yielded  them  enormous  profits,  and  from  which  they  ac- 
cumulated incredible  wealth.  In  a  few  years  the  Greek 
commercial  marine  numbered  six  hundred  vessels,  with 
twenty  thousand  sailors  and  six  thousand  guns.  *'  Of 
these.  Hydra  alone,  in  181 3,  furnished  sixty  sail,  manned 
by  two  thousand  of  her  own  inhabitants.  Her  merchants 
were  among  the  richest  capitalists  of  Europe,  and  so  gen- 
erous in  behalf  of  their  country  that  one  individual  alone, 
Varvaki,  is  said  to  have  contributed  three  hundred  thou- 
sand piasters  towards  improving  the  harbor  of  his  native 
island.  Nor  is  this  a  soHtary  instance  of  the  intensity  of 
that  spirit  of  patriotism  which  characterizes  the  march  of 
later  events  in  Greece.  Suffering  and  tyranny  seemed  to 
have  inspired  the  whole  nation  with  one  common  impulse^ 
»  Finlay,  pp.  327,  344. 


2o6  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

the  energies  of  every  individual  were  directed  to  the  same 
end ;  and  to  this  resistless  combination  must  be  attributed 
the  singularly  rapid  advancement  and  regeneration  of 
Greece.* 

During  the  greater  part  of  the  last  century,  through 
the  strong  sympathies  of  the  Christians  of  European 
Turkey  with  their  powerful  co-religionists  of  Moscow  and 
St  Petersburg,  the  Greeks  were  subject  to  a  predominant 
Russian  influence,  which  tended  strongly  to  develop  their 
national  feeling,  and  to  prepare  them  for  resistance  to 
Turkish  oppression.  But  Russian  despotism  could  have 
no  fellowship  with  democratic  freedom  ;  and  the  tendency 
of  this  foreign  influence  was  rather  to  strengthen  the  power 
of  the  clergy  and  the  Phanariots,  than  to  promote  the  real 
and  healthful  progress  of  the  nation.  But  towards  the 
end  of  the  century  other  agencies  appeared  upon  the  field 
by  which  these  conservative  tendencies  were  effectually 
neutralized.     The  French  Revolution  broke  out,  and  the 

^  Tennent,  vol.  ii.  pp.  567-8.  "The  Greeks  of  the  island  of  Psara  (or 
Ipsara),  and  of  the  town  of  Galaxidhi  in  the  Corinthian  Gulf,  and  the  Al- 
banians of  the  islands  of  Hydra  and  Petzas  (or  Spetzia),  carried  on  an  exten- 
sive commerce  in  their  own  ships.  Many  of  the  sailors  were  part  proprie- 
tors both  of  the  ship  and  cargo,  and  united  the  occupations  of  capitahsts  and 
sailors.  All  shared  in  the  profits  of  the  voyage.  Their  extensive  commer- 
cial enterprises  exercised  a  direct  influence  on  the  great  body  of  the  Greek 
population,  which  dwells  in  general  near  the  seacoast." — Finlay,  pp.  344-5* 
"An  extensive  and  enterprising  marine  population  soon  made  Hydra, 
Spetzia,  Ipsara,  Miconi,  Cranidhi,  Galaxidhi,  and  other  places,  but  lately 
unknown,  important  ports ;  whence  issued  fine  vessels,  which  competed 
with,  and  soon  gained  a  complete  ascendency  over,  the  European  traders  in 
the  Levant ;  doing  the  carrying  trade  much  cheapir  than  they  could,  and  thus 
excluding  them.  They  were  in  danger  from  the  Algerian  and  other  pirates, 
and  hence  they  had  an  excuse  for  arming  their  vessels ;  they  carried  from  six 
to  sixteen  cannon,  and  thus  was  formed  the  organ  of  the  future  regeneration 
of  Greece." — Howe's  Greek  Revolution,  p.  23. 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  REVOLUTION.  207 

fire  of  democratic  sentiment,  which  spread  throughout 
Europe  from  this  flaming  volcano  with  such  rapidity  and 
power,  found  a  most  congenial  atmosphere  among  the 
Greeks,  and  very  soon  the  whole  Greek  mind  was  kindled 
and  aglow  with  this  new  inspiration.  In  1797  the  French 
took  possession  of  the  Ionian  Islands,  formed  an  alliance 
with  Ali  Pasha  of  Yannina,  and  began  to  exert  a  control- 
hng  influence  in  the  affairs  of  Greece.  It  needed  but 
this  torch  to  fire  the  train  already  laid,  and  from  that  time 
the  Greek  Revolution  was  sure,  sooner  or  later,  to  come. 
Through  the  first  twenty  years  of  the  present  century, 
the  preparation  for  the  coming  explosion  advanced  with 
rapid  pace.  The  Ottoman  Empire  had  sunk  to  the  low- 
est stage  of  weakness  and  confusion.  The  Turks  in  the 
European  provinces  were  everywhere  growing  fewer, 
weaker,  more  thriftless,  and  more  wretched.  Organized 
and  efficient  military  force  there  was  none.  The  janiza- 
ries had  become  a  mere  city  trading  militia,  without  order 
or  discipline.  The  spahis,  poor  and  neglected,  were 
formidable  only  as  they  were  ready  to  join  any  local  pasha 
in  rebellion.  The  great  Pashas  were  little  else  than  trib- 
utary and  almost  independent  sovereigns  in  their  own 
provinces.  The  central  government  had  become  in  the 
main  a  mere  fiscal  agency,  intent  upon  extorting  the 
largest  possible  amount  of  money,  by  any  means,  whether 
fair  or  foul,  from  the  individuals,  cities,  provinces,  and 
■pashas  of  tlie  disjointed  Empire.^  Meanwhile,  all  the 
city,  maritime,  manufacturing,  and  commercial  classes  of 
the  Greeks  were  filled  with  intensest  activity,  and  were 
advancing  with  rapic'   strides   in  wealth,  in  public  and 

»  Finlay,  pp.  352-4. 


10 


2o8  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

patriotic  spirit,  and  in  conscious  strength.  It  should  be 
observed,  however,  that  this  accumulation  af  wealth  by 
the  Greeks  at  home  was  confined  to  a  few  locahties,  and 
to  comparatively  a  few  individuals.  As  a  people,  the 
Greeks  were  still  very  poor. 

We  have  thus  followed  the  fortunes  of  the  Greeks  to 
the  eve  of  their  great  and  decisive  conflict  with  Turkish 
power.  At  this  point,  let  us  pause  for  a  brief  and  com- 
prehensive glance  at  their  condition,  that  we  may  see 
what  they  have  grown  to  be,  morally  and  socially,  as 
well  as  materially  and  politically,  and  what  preparation 
they  have  for  the  great  struggle  before  them.  We  find 
them  divided  into  four  classes,  each  one  of  which  will  fill 
a  very  important  place  in  the  coming  revolution — the 
Merchants,  the  Country  Gentry,  the  Agricultural  Peas- 
antry, and  the  Klephts. 

I.  The  Commercial  Greeks.  In  the  year  1815,  per- 
haps there  were  nowhere  in  the  world  two  communities 
more  prosperous  and  flourishing  than  the  islands  of  Scio 
and  Hydra.  The  whole  body  of  the  people  were  living 
in  affluent  abundance,  while  the  merchants  had  accumu- 
lated great  wealth.  With  this  material  prosperity,  there 
had  been  a  corresponding  social  advancement.  Large 
and  beautiful  dweUings  were  erected,  schools  were  opened, 
hospitals  established,  and  society  began  to  assume  a  truly 
European  aspect.  The  merchants  of  Scio,  by  a  voluntary 
tax  of  two  per  cent,  upon  their  property,  had  established 
a  college  about  the  close  of  the  last  century,  which,  in 
1823,  numbered  fourteen  professorships  and  eight  hun- 
dred students,  and  was  furnished  with  a  library,  a  print- 
ing office,  and  an  ample  collection  of  philosophical  instru- 


THE  COMMERCIAL  GREEKS.  3io^ 

ments.  Emphatic  testimony  to  the  high  moral  charactei 
of  the  people  of  both  these  islands  has  been  already  ad- 
duced, and  Dr.  Howe  speaks  in  language  equally  strong 
of  the  social  qualities  of  the  Sciots ;  "  The  Sciot  mer- 
chant was  ever,  abroad,  sharp  and  close,  but  at  home 
generous  and  hospitable.  We  have  seen  in  their  females 
much  of  that  delicate  refinement  which  gives  a  zest  to 
society  at  home ;  we  have  experienced  in  the  bosom  of 
their  families  not  only  the  right  of  hospitality,  but  we 
have  been  sustained  in  the  dreary  days  of  sickness  by 
their  kind  and  untiring  attentions ;  and  we  can  never  for- 
get the  heartfelt  gratitude  and  earnest  thanks  with  which 
they  reward  the  slighest  service  done  by  strangers  to 
their  country."^  The  Hydraots,  true  to  their  Albanian 
blood,  were  far  braver  and  more  warlike  than  the  Sciots, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  far  less  intelligent.  But  nowhere 
else  in  Greece  perhaps  was  there  so  much  of  neatness 
and  domestic  comfort  as  at  Hydra.^ 

The  Hydraots  were  exceedingly  clannish,  and  almost 
the  whole  of  their  immense  mercantile  business  was 
conducted  upon  joint  stock  and  co-operative  principles. 
Merchant,  captain,  and  crew  were  all  part  owners  in  ship 
and  cargo — ^were,  in  fact,  usually  connected  by  family 
relationship  ^ — and  worked  together  upon  terms  of  most 

^  Greek  Revolution,  pp.  18-9. 

*  "In  fact,  they  value  education  but  little;  .  .  .  they  are  too  de- 
vout worshipers  of  Mammon  to  apply  themselves  much  to  learning.  .  .  , 
They  are  extremely  neat  in  their  persons ;  and  there  is  perhaps  hardly  a 
spot  in  the  world  where  the  whole  people  are  so  well  and  cleanly  dressed 
as  at  Hydra.  Their  houses  are  as  cl6an  as  those  of  Dutchmen." — Id.,  p. 
165. 

» Id.,  pp.  25^-6a 


2XO  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

democratic  equality.  And  such  was  their  mutual  good 
faith  and  strictness  in  dealing  among  themselves,  that  for 
nearly  thirty  years,  as  we  are  told  by  those  who  knew 
them  well,  without  law  or  judge,  without  bond,  receipt, 
or  note,  they  carried  on  their  vast  system  of  commercial 
transactions,  reaching  to  every  part  of  the  world,  and 
bringing  them  in  enormous  wealth,  without  a  single  case 
of  bankruptcy,  "  never  keeping  accounts,  and  never 
breaking  their  word."  ^  The  same  business  methods,  and 
measurably  also  the  same  mutual  good  faith,  which 
characterized  the  merchants  of  Hydra,  prevailed  in  every 
part  of  Greece.  All  mercantile,  all  manufacturing,  all 
fishing  enterprises,  were  conducted  upon  the  same  co- 
operative principle.^     The  Greek  had  no  law  or  court  to 

^  London  Quarterly  Review  for  April,  1869,  p.  256 ;  Urquhart,  pp. 
55-6.  "  Conversing  with  Mavrocordatos  a  few  days  before  I  left  Greece,  I 
expressed  to  him  my  doubts  about  what  I  had  often  heard  of  the  honesty 
and  good  faith  of  the  Hydraots  previous  to  the  commencement  of  the  Rev- 
olution. He  replied,  '  I  do  not  wonder  at  it;  it  is  hard  to  conceive  how 
seven  years  should  so  completely  changv"  a  body  of  men  ;  yet  so  it  is.  War, 
and  its  attendants,  anarchy  and  confusion,  have  altered  the  Hydraots  from 
an  industrious,  sober,  and  honest  people,  to  what  you  now  see  them.  Such 
a  thing  as  a  note  or  bond  was  almost  unknown ;  a  merchant  would  lend 
another  money,  and  only  request  him  to  make  a  minute  of  it ;  he  would 
ship  goods  on  board  a  vessel,  and  take  no  bill  of  lading ;  vessels  would 
come  into  port,  and  the  captain  and  crew  run  to  see  their  friends,  leaving 
the  vessel  unlocked,  and  perhaps  specie  on  board.  Shops  were  left  open 
by  their  owners  without  fear,  and  often  the  shutters  only  closed  and  the  door 
latched  during  the  night.  This  was  the  case  also  in  Spetzia  and  Ipsara ; 
the  word  of  a  merchant  or  a  sea  captain  was  sacred.'  " — Howe,  p.  166,  note. 

2  "While  the  sale  of  fish  is  going  forward  (at  Prevesa,  on  the  Gulf  of 
Arta),  the  money  is  laid  by  in  a  common  purse,  which,  when  the  mukdtesi 
has  been  paid,  is  equally  divided  between  the  merchants  and  the  fishermen. 
This,  and  other  modes  of  giving  an  interest  in  profits  to  all  the  individuals 
employed  in  any  speculation,  are  common  in  the  mercantile,  and  even  in  the 
agricultural  undertakings  of  the  Greeks.     The  greater  part  of  the  maritime 


THE  COMMERCIAL  GREEKS.  an 

which  he  could  appeal  with  any  hope  of  securing  justice ; 
bonds,  notes,  and  written  contracts  were  of  no  value 
when  there  was  no  tribunal  to  enforce  them ;  the  only- 
ground  on  which  it  was  possible  for  these  numberless  and 
complicated  co-operative  transactions  to  be  conducted 
was  an' entire  confidence  in  the  mutual  good  faith  of  the 
parties  ;  and  such  was  the  moral  power  of  that  munici- 
pal bond  under  which  these  rayahs  all  lived  in  their  own 
communities,  that  in  this  confidence  the  Greek  did  not 
often  find  his  trust  deceived. 

And  yet  the  Greek  merchants  as  a  class  bore  a  bad 
character  in  Europe.  They  were  looked  upon  as  very 
cunning,  very  deceitful,  and  very  knavish — a  judgment, 
in  fact,  which  was  extended  to  the  whole  Greek  race. 
*'  A  traveler,"  says  Dr.  Howe,  "  meets  with  Greeks  in 
Constantinople,  Smyrna,  &c. ;  he  has  for  his  servant  a 
Franco-  Greek  who  has  learned  the  vices  of  Europe  with 
the  languages,  and  who  steals  from  him  on  all  occasions ; 
he  trades  with  the  Greek  merchant,  who  lives  only  by 
chicanery,  and  who  cheats  him  in  every  bargain  ;  his 
cicerone  is  a  Greek,  who  practices  a  thousand  frauds  upon 

commerce  and  carrying  trade  is  managed  upon  the  same  principle ;  and  it 
often  happens  that  every  sailor  is  in  part  owner  of  the  ship  as  well  as  the 
cargo.  Such  customs  are  at  once  an  effect  and  a  support  of  the  republican 
spirit  which  it  is  curious  to  find  prevading  a  people  subject  to  such  a  despot 
as  the  Sultan." — Leake's  Northern  Greece,  i.  182-3. 

"The  Trikeriots  (upon  the  eastern  coast  of  Thessaiy)  usually  fit  out 
their  ventures  in  the  same  manner  as  the  people  of  Hydra,  Spetzia,  Poro, 
and  many  other  maritime  towns ;  that  is  to  say,  the  owner,  captain,  and 
sailors  all  have  shares  in  the  ship  and  cargo,  the  sailors  generally  sharing 
a  half  among  them,  which  is  in  lieu  of  all  othi:  demands.  During  the 
scarcity  of  corn  in  France  at  the  beginning  of  the  revolution,  a  sailor's  share 
for  the  voyage  amounted  sometimes  to  three  purses,  which  at  that  time  wa» 
equivalent  to  ^^150  sterling." — Id.,  iv.  395. 


212  THE  MODERN  GREEK, 

him;  wherever  he  turns  he  finds  some  sharp-witted 
Greeks  to  take  advantage  of  his  ignorance,  to  gull  his 
credulity,  and  to  fleece  him  without  robbing  him,  and  he 
indignantly  condemns  thewhole  race  as  base  and  trickish. 
The  merchants  and  naval  men  who  visit  the  Archipelago, 
or  who  trade  to  Smyrna  and  Constantinople,  meet  with 
the  Greek  merchants  there,  who  are  more  cunning  and 
knavish  than  the  Israelites  themselves  ;  who  live  imme- 
diately under  the  rod  of  despotism  ;  who  are  "  cringing, 
crouching  slaves;"  who  can  acquire  money  only  by  de- 
ception and  trick,  and  who  can  retain  it  only  by  coun- 
terfeiting poverty ;  .  .  .  and  we  hear  them  denounce 
the  Greeks  as  a  nation  of  rascals,  less  worthy  of  our  atten- 
tion than  the  Turks."  ^ 

Never,  perhaps,  were  statements  so  directly  opposite, 
so  strangely  contradictory,  made  of  the  character  of  any 
other  people,  and  made,  on  both  sides,  so  near  the  truth. 
While  we  admit,  as  we  must,  all  that  has  been  affirmed 
of  the  singular  honesty  and  good  faith  of  the  people  of 
Hydra,  of  Ambelakia,  and  a  hundred  other  Greek  com- 
munities, among  themselves,  we  must  also  admit  that  the 
Greeks  have  borne  for  twenty- five  hundred  years  the 
same  national  character — that  they  have  always  been  the 
same  cunning,  sharp-witted,  intriguing,  and  deceitful  race. 
It  is  also  true,  as  we  have  already  seen,  that  there  was  a 
large  class  of  Greeks,  and  of  Greek  merchants  among  the 
rest,  who,  living  in  intimate  subjection  to  Turkish  influ- 
ences, had  become  thoroughly  demoralized;  who  dis- 
played no  moral  character,  no  honesty  or  uprightness, 
either  abroad  or  at  home. 

*  Greek  Revolution,  pp.  15-16. 


THE  COMMERCIAL  GREEKS.  213 

We  must  admit  more  even  than  this.  The  Greek 
merchants  of  the  better  class,  those  who  displayed  the 
highest  moral  qualities  in  their  domestic  transactions, 
bore  very  often  a  double  character.  They  were  one 
thing  at  home,  wholly  another  thing  abroad.  At  home, 
they  were  what  they  had  been  made  by  the  steady  and 
powerful  moral  discipline  of  their  municipal  life.  Abroad, 
they  were  what  they  had  been  made  by  constant  deal- 
ings with  Turkish  officials.  They  lived  under  a  govern- 
ment which  cared  nothing  for  them  or  their  interests, 
which  regarded  neither  law  or  right  in  its  dealings  with 
them,  which  sought  only  to  wring  from  them  the  largest 
possible  amount  of  money.  Honesty  in  dealing  with  the 
corrupt  and  rapacious  officials  upon  whom  they  were  de- 
pendent seemed  in  most  cases  out  of  the  question.  To  do 
business  successfully  at  all,  they  felt  compelled  to  bribe, 
to  cheat,,  to  outwit  and  deceive.  And  as  they  had  learned 
to  deal  with  Turks,  so  they  were  very  likely  to  deal 
with  the  Franks  of  the  West.  Of  all  this  class  of  men, 
as  of  the  great  body  of  the  Greek  nation,  this  important 
observation  is  to  be  made.  Their  virtue  at  home,  not 
their  chicanery  abroad,  was  the  real,  essential  basis  of 
their  character.  All  that  they  were  at  home,  under 
more  favoring  circumstances,  they  might  be  justly  ex- 
pected to  show  themselves  abroad.  Their  virtues  were 
their  own — the  natural,  healthful  product  of  their  own 
institutions,  their  own  domestic  life.  Their  vices  were 
in  great  measure  an  unnatural  deformity  into  which 
their  moral  growth  had  been  forced  by  the  evil  influ- 
ences amid  which  they  were  compelled  to  live. 

II.  The  Country  Gentry,     We  may  use  this  term,  for 


214  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

want  of  a  better,  to  describe  the  large  class  of  the  more 
wealthy  and  Influential  Greeks  in  all  the  country  districts, 
who  for  their  own  selfish  ends  were  content  to  be  the  ser- 
vants and  tools  of  the  Turks.  To  this  class  belonged 
the  hodja-bashis,  proesti,  or  primates  —  men  who  were 
appointed  or  recognized  by  the  Pashas  as  the  elders  or 
chiefs  of  the  several  communities.  These  men  assessed 
the  taxes,  and  had  the  general  direction  of  affairs  in  their 
several  districts  and  villages ;  were  in  fact  their  respon- 
sible heads.  They  formed  a  local  aristocracy  of  com- 
parative wealth  and  great  influence,  and  were  in  many 
cases  the  real  rulers  of  the  Greeks.  Of  this  class  all  wit- 
nesses agree  in  speaking  with  strong  detestation.  They 
were  selfish  and  rapacious,  and  more  tyrannical  than  the 
Turks  themselves ;  they  cared  nothing  for  the  good  of 
their  people,  and  went  into  the  revolution,  many  of 
them,  only  in  the  hope  of  succeeding  to  the  despotic 
power  of  the  Turkish  governors.^ 

Col.  Leake  cites  Dr.  S.  of  Gastuni  as  saying  that  the 
proesti  were  in  everything  the  ruin  of  the  nation,  and  con- 
tinues as  follows :  **  In  the  Morea,  where  so  many  Greeks 
have  authority,  they  naturally  become  under  the  Ottoman 
system  a  sort  of  Christian  Turks,  with  the  usual  ill  quali- 
ties of  slaves  who  have  obtained  power.  The  chief 
proofs  among  them  of  a  good  birth  and  genteel  education 
are  dissimulation,  and  the  art  of  lying  with  a  good  grace, 
which  they  seem  often  to  exercise  rather  with  a  view  of 
showing  their  ability  in  this  way,  than  with  any  settled 
design.  .  .  .  Though  it  is  impossible  not  to  be  disgust- 
ed with  these  things,  one  can  hardly  blame  the  Greeks 
^  Howe,  pp.  33-65. 


THE  A  GRICUL .  ^URAL  PEASANTR  K  215 

for  them ;  for  what  other  arms  have  they  against  their 
oppressors  ?  Under  spch  a  cruel  tyranny,  deceitfulness 
unavoidably  becomes  a  national  characteristic."^  This 
class  was  wholly  a  growth  of  the  Turkish  system,  and 
was  only  an  evil  and  a  burden  to  the  nation. 

III.  The  Agricultural  Peasantry.  At  the  time  of  which 
we  are  now  speaking,  this  class,  comprising  the  great  ma- 
jority of  the  Greeks  in  Greece  proper,  was  much  depress- 
ed and  very  poor.  In  Northern  Greece  the  exactions  of 
Ali  Pasha  weighed  heavily  upon  them,  while  in  the  Mo- 
rea,  through  the  tyranny  of  Turkish  officials  and  their, 
own  primates,  they  were  usually  but  little  better  off. 
The  Greek  villages  were  usually  clustered  among  the 
hills,  while  the  rich  plains,  which  had  been  originally  ap- 
propriated by  the  Turks^  were  either  thinly  peopled  and 
half  cultivated  or  wholly  desolate.  Every  village  was 
treated  by  the  Turkish  officials  as  a  whole,  held  to  a  unit- 
ed and  corporate  responsibility,  and  thus  forced  into  that 
municipal  character  and  action  which  had  become  so 
characteristic  of  Greek  political  life.  The  several  villages 
held  their  lands  by  various  tenures.  In  some,  the  peas- 
ants had  owned  the  fields  they  tilled  in  a  kind  of  freehold 
property.  More  commonly,  however,  the  villages  and 
the  lands  about  them  were  the  property  of  some  Moslem 
or  Greek  landlord.  In  either  case,. the  terms  were,  nomi- 
nally, not  severe,  as  compared  with  the  burdens  of  the 
farming  peasantry  in  other  parts  of  Europe. 

The  freeholding  villages  had  to  pay,  first  of  all,  the 
kharatch,  or  capitation  tax,  which  in  Greece  at  this  time 

*  Morea,  voL  iL  pp.  177-$^  See  also  Northern  Greece,  ii.  108,  and  iii. 
515-8. 


2i6  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

amounted  to  about  two  dollars  for  each  male  over  twelve 
or  fifteen  years  of  age ;  ^  there  was  then  the  miiHy  or  Sul- 
tan's land  tax,  amounting  to  about  one-seventh  of  the  crop, 
and  levied  upon  all,  Christians  and  Moslems  alike ;  and  the 
angaria,  or  forced  contribution  for  public  works,  likewise 
exacted  from  all  alike.  These  taxes,  with  various  cus- 
toms and  duties  upon  articles  sold,  and  the  konakia  or  free 
lodging  which  the  villages  were  obliged  to  furnish  for 
mihtary  guards  and  traveling  officials,  were  the  chief  of 
the  regular  burdens  which  the  freeholding  villages  were 
compelled  to  bear.  The  tenant  farmer,  after  all  taxes  had 
been  paid  from  his  crop,  divided  the  remainder  with  his 
landlord.  But  helpless  as  they  were — at  the  mercy  of 
every  local  tyrant,  whether  Moslem  or  Christian — they 
were  subject  to  such  numberless  exactions,  such  constant 
extortion,  that  with  all  tlieir  industry  they  were  hardly 
able  to  obtain  the  means  of  subsistence  from  year  to 
year. 

Almost  every  village  in  the  power  of  AH  Pasha  had 
been  compelled  to  incur  a  heavy  debt,  at  ruinous  rates  of 
interest,  to  meet  his  exorbitant  demands.  So  heavy  and 
hopeless  had  this  burden  of  debt  become  to  many  villages 
before  freeholding  and  independent,  that  they  had  been 
compelled  to  give  up  their  lands  to  the  Vizier,  and  either 
to  forsake  their  homes  or  to  remain  as  tenants  at  will. 
In  the  depth  of  their  poverty  and  misery,  multitudes  of 
Greeks,  in  Northern  Greece  and  in  the  Morea,  had  fled 
from  their  homes  to  seek  new  settlements  in  western 
Asia  Minor,  under  the  mild  and  tolerant  rule  of  Kara 
Osman  Oglu. 

^  Howe,  p.  12. 


THE  AGRICULTURAL  PEASANTRY.  217 

The  ordinary  dwellings  of  the  Greek  farming  peasantry- 
would  have  seemed  to  an  American  eye  but  comfortless 
huts.^  They  had  neither  floor  nor  chimney,  nor,  except- 
ing a  little  matting,  had  they  any  beds ;  and  a  few  of  the 
simplest  articles  comprised  the  whole  stock  of  household 
furniture.  Sometimes  the  cottage  consisted  of  one  room, 
a  bare  inclosure  of  rough  walls,  perhaps  thirty  feet  in 
length  by  fifteen  in  breadth ;  but  more  commonly,  espe- 
cially in  the  plains,  the  building  was  longer  and  was 
divided  into  two  rooms  by  a  partition  of  baskets,  in  which 
were  deposited  the  household  stores.  The  room  below 
the  partition  was  assigned  to  the  cattle  of  the  establish- 
ment, while  the  family  occupied  the  other.  In  these 
dwellings  the  traveler  from  the  West  usually  found  it 
most  agreeable  "  to  rest  during  the  meridian  hours,  which, 
especially  in  the  villages,  are  by  far  more  quiet  than  the 
night,  when  asses,  hogs,  dogs,  fowls,  rats,  bugs,  fleas, 
gnats,  are  all  in  a  state  of  activity."  ^ 

The  women  of  this  class,  though  ignorant  and  very 
much  depressed  socially,  were  virtuous,  kindly,  and  very 
industrious.  In  the  mountain  districts  they  were  often 
very  hardy  and  endowed  with  great  physical  strength. 
Among  the  highlands  upon  the  river  Crathes  in  the  north 
of  the  Morea,  Col.  Leake  saw  a  hundred  women,  each 
bearing  a  great  load  of  wood  from  the  mountains,  and 
spinning  as  she  made  her  way  over  the  rough  ground.^ 

In  the  midst  of  their  poverty  and  oppression,  the 
Greeks  were  a  buoyant,  light-hearted  race,  full  of  songs, 

'  See  Baird's  Modern  Greece,  p.  189 ;  Leake's  Morea,  i.  222 ;  and  Nor- 
thern Greece,  iii.  362. 

*  Leake's  Northern  Greece,  vol.  i.  p.  221.       '  Morea,  vo  iii.  p.  173. 

10 


2x8  THE  MODLRN  GREEKS, 

of  which  the  exploits  of  some  valiant  Klepht  were  more 
commonly  the  theme,  and  always  ready  for  the  social  pas- 
time and  the  evening  dance  when  the  labors  of  the  day 
were  done.  This  light-hearted  cheerfulness  could  not  be 
overcome,  even  by  the  utter  homelessness,  nakedness, 
and  destitution  to  which  thousands  of  them  were  reduced' 
towards  the  close  of  their  terrible  revolutionary  struggle. 
"They  took  refuge  in  the  recesses  of  the  mountains,  in 
caverns,  in  the  center  of  swamps ;  .  .  .  they  lived 
in  little  wigwams  or  temporary  huts,  made  by  driving 
poles  in  the  ground  and  thatching  them  with  reeds  ;  they 
were  obliged  to  wander  about  in  quest  of  food,  and  their 
naked  feet  were  lacerated  by  the  rocks  ;  their  faces,  necks, 
and  half-exposed  limbs  were  sunburnt,  and  their  hollow 
eyes  and  emaciated  countenances  gave  evidence  that 
their  sufferings  had  been  long  endured.  .  .  .  Yet, 
amid  all  this  misery,  strange  as  it  may  appear,  the  light 
and  volatile  Greek  was  not  always  depressed ;  the  boy 
sang  as  he  gathered  snails  on  the  mountains,  and  the  girls 
danced  arOund  the  pot  where  their  homely  mess  of  sorrel 
and  roots  was  boiling.  The  voice  of  mirth  was  often  heard 
in  those  miserable  habitations,  and  the  smile  of  fond  hope 
was  often  seen  on  those  countenances,  which  mere  want 
and  exposure,  and  not  care,  had  rendered  so  wan  and 
emaciated." ^  The  Greek  peasantry  have  been  doomed  to 
a  hard  and  weary  lot.  To  the  abject  misery  of  their  con- 
dition under  Turkish  tyranny,  independence  has  as  yet 
brought  them  but  partial  relief  Yet  through  all  the 
painful  experiences  of  the  pa?t  two  hundred  years,  they 
have  borne  themselves  with  a  simple  virtue  and  truthful- 

*  Howe's  Greek  Revolution,  pp.  369-70. 


THE  KLEPHTS,  219 

ness,  a  cheerful  hope,  a  patient  industry,  and  a  resolute 
purpose  to  make  the  best  of  their  hard  lot,  which  ought 
to  insure  them  the  respect  and  the  cordial  sympathies  of 
all  Christian  people. 

IV.  The  Klephts.*  The  Greek  Klephts  of  this  period 
were  by  no  means  all  alike.  The  term  had  been  origin- 
ally applied  to  clans  or  bands  of  free-spirited  mountain- 
eers, who,  disdaining  submission  to  the  Turkish  yoke, 
had  retired  to  some  secure  retreat  among  the  mountains, 
and  there  maintained  themselves  in  sturdy  and  complete 
independence.  These  Klephts  were  nearly  akin  to  the 
Armatoli — the  latter  being  little  else  than  Klephts  in  the 
service  of  the  Porte.  Of  these  proper  and  original 
Klephts,  the  Suhots  were  the  noblest  and  most  conspicuous 
example.  Through  seven  successive  wars  this  heroic 
tribe,  a  race  of  soldiers,  with  whom  robbery  of  the  Turks 
(and  not  always  of  Turks  alone)  was  a  lawful  and  most 
Jhonorable  vocation,  had  fiercely  defended  their  native 
hills,  and  were  at  last  only  destroyed  inch  by  inch,  inflict- 
ing meantime  greater  loss  upon  their  foes  than  they  suf- 
fered themselves. 

The  true  mountain  Klephts  were  the  great  heroes  of 
the  Greek  race.  Their  exploits  were  celebrated  in  a 
thousand  songs,  and  whenever  they  descended  to  the 
plains,  as,  driven  by  the  snows  of  winter,  they  sometimes 
reluctantly  did,  they  were  followed  by  admiring  crowds, 
who  looked  upon  them  as  beings  of  a  superior  race.  But 
after  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  through  the  tyranny 
of  the  Turks  and  the  disorders  of  the  times,  the  Klephts 
as  a  class  began  to  deserve  much  more  justly  their  title 

*  Tennent,  chap.  xi. ;  Howe's  Greek  Revolution,  pp.  19-21,  28-9. 


220  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

of  robbers.  Freebooting  bands  were  formed  in  almost 
every  mountain  district,  which  waged  incessant  warfare 
upon  the  Turks,  and  very  often  plundered  impartially 
Turk  and  Christian  alike.  Towards  the  close  of  the 
century  wholesale  brigandage  became  a  regular  summer 
trade  with  thousands  of  Greeks,  Albanians,  and  Greek 
Wallachians  who  had  their  homes  and  their  winter  resi- 
dences in  the  mountain  villages.  Every  spring  these 
robbers  would  assemble  in  companies  numbering  from 
ten  to  several  hundreds,  retire  to  some  impregnable 
fastness  of  the  mountains,  and  from  these  secure  retreats 
wage  a  constant  predatory  warfare  upon  all  within  their 
reach.  ^  There  were  extensive  districts  which  had  been 
almost  ruined  and  depopulated  between  these  robbers 
and  the  Dervent  guards.  To  the  Greeks  this  brigandage 
assumed  the  guise  of  warfare  upon  the  Turk,  and  was 
accounted  highly  honorable.  The  robber  was  a  popular 
character,  even  in  the  districts  which  he  had  helped  to 
waste.^     But  these  village  robbers  were  a  very  different 

*  Hobhouse,  i.  pp.  127-40. 

2  The  high  honor  in  which  Klephts  and  heyducs  have  always,  until  very 
recently,  been  held  by  the  Christian  peoples  of  European  Turkey,  seems  to 
us  very  strange.  But  if  we  would  refresh  our  minds  a  little  in  regard  to 
our  own  ancestral  history,  our  wonder  at  this  matter  would  cease.  We 
ourselves  have  not  so  long  outgrown  the  Klcphtic  age,  at  least  as  it  respects 
freebooting  on  the  sea,  as  some  of  us  may  imagine.  Less  than  three  hun- 
dred years  ago  the  pirate  and  the  buccaneer  were  held  in  as  high  honor  in 
England  as  the  Klepht  has  ever  been  in  Greece.  "  The  whole  body  of 
early  naval  history  proves  that  *  pirate '  was  not  a  term  of  opprobrium. 
Capturing  a  foreign  merchant  ship,  throwing  her  crew  overboard,  or  selling 
them  as  slaves,  and  appropriating  the  cargo,  was  a  slightly  irregular,  but 
by  no  means  dishonorable  proceeding.  ...  In  point  of  fact,  the  pirates 
were  privateers,  and  were  so  esteemed  by  their  countrymen." — Ed.  Review, 
April,  1876,  p.  228.'  Hawkins  and  Drake,  those  great  heroes  of  the  English 
navy  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  were  little  else  than  mighty  KlephU 
c^the  sea. 


THE  KLEPHTS,  221 

class  of  men  from  the  old  independent  Klephts,  who  had 
breathed  for  ages  the  free  air  of  the  mountains,  and  had 
never  bowed  their  necks  to  a  Turkish  yoke. 

The  true  mountain  Klepht  was  among  the  bravest  of 
the  brave.  Trained  from  infancy  to  arms  and  the  endu- 
rance of  every  hardship,  he  was  as  hardy  and  vigorous, 
as  quick  and  agile  as  the  wild  antelope  of  the  mountains. 
In  full  armor,  he  could  outrun  a  horse  and  his  rider,  and 
of  Nico  Tsaras,  one  of  their  most  renowned  heroes,  it  was 
said  that  he  could  leap  over  seven  horses  standing  abreast. 
Steady  of  nerve  and  strong  of  hand,  his  aim  was  so  sure 
that  he  could  drive  a  pistol  ball  through  a  ring  of  the 
same  size,  his  sight  so  keen  that  his  aim  was  as  sure  and 
deadly  by  night  as  by  day.  Relentless  in  his  hatred  to 
the  Turk,  he  was  not  cruel.  His  prisoners  were  never 
tortured,  and  women,  even  Turkish  women,  were  safe, 
and  sure  of  courteous  treatment  at  his  hands.  If  he  fell 
alive  into  the  hands  of  the  Turks,  he  laughed  at  the  tor- 
tures they  inflicted  upon  him,  and,  though  his  legs  were 
crushed  inch  by  inch  with  sledge-hammers,  not  a  groan 
would  escape  from  his  lips.*  After  Ali  Pasha's  success 
in  breaking  the  power  of  the  Armatoli,  he  turned  his 
arms  against  the  Klephts.  But  in  this,  almost  alone  of 
the  great  enterprises  of  his  life,  he  signally  failed.  A  few 
bands  were  broken  up,  a  few  Klephts  were  taken  and 
killed.  But  the  chief  result  of  the  Vizier's  hostility  was 
to  force  the  Klephtic  bands  into  a  closer  union  and  more 
efficient  measures  for  the  common  defence,  and  to  swell 

^  For  an  actual  case  of  just  this  fiendish  cruelty  on  the  part  of  Ali  Pasha 
of  Yanriina,  and  of  just  this  heroic  fortitude  on  the  part  of  a  captive  Klepht, 
see  Tennoit,  L  p.  441. 


222  i±iE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

their  ranks  with  multitudes  of  the  disbanded  Armatoli, 
and  other  men,  who  in  all  quarters  were  flying  from  his 
tyranny.  In  the  last  years  of  Ali,  and  just  before  the 
breaking  out  of*  the  Greek  Revolution,  almost  every 
mountain  fastness  in  Greece  had  become  a  fortress  of 
freedom,  and  ten  thousand  Klephts  were  in  arms,  ready 
to  turn  their  long  muskets  and  yataghans  against  the 
Turks.  ^ 

The  agency  which  had  most  to  do  in  directly  prepar- 
ing the  way  for  the  Greek  Revolution,  was  the  Heteria,* 
a  vast  secret  organization,  born  of  the  ferment  attending 
the  French  Revolution,  and  founded,  about  the  year  1795, 
by  the  poet  Rhiga,  whose  fiery  patriotic  songs  were  sung 
everywhere  and  with  intensest  feeling  by  the  whole  Greek 
race.  Rhiga  had  taken  up  his  residence  at  Vienna,  but 
was  given  up  by  the  Austrian  government  to  the  Turks, 
and  beheaded  at  Belgrade  in  1798.  After  the  death  of 
Rhiga  the  Heteria  seemed  for  a  time  to  have  been  sup- 
pressed ;  but  in  a  few  years  it  revived  again,  and  spread 
with  astonishing  rapidity  wherever  the  Greek  race  was 
found.  The  order  was  governed  by  a  secret  council,  and 
as  each  member  upon  his  initiation  ^  paid  about  one  hun- 
dred dollars  into  the  treasury,  the  council  had  ample 
means  at  its  command.  Upon  entering  the  order,  the 
Heterist  took  a  solemn  and  impassioned  oath  to  devote 
himself  with  absolute  and  perpetual  consecration  to  the 
emancipation  of  his  country  and  the  destruction  of  the 
power  of  the  Turks.  Before  the  year  1820  the  Heteria 
had  drawn  within  its  circle  almost  every  influential  Greek, 
of  whatever  class,  character,  or  occupation.     It  had  be- 

*  Howe,  p.  29  *  Tennent,  ii.  426-32,  573-77;  Howe,  30-33. 


THE  HETERIA,  223 

come  a  national  league,  in  which  the  whole  people  had 
sworn  together  to  free  themselves  from  bondage  to  the 
Turk.  In  the  secret  councils  of  the  Heteria,  there  was 
neither  wisdom  nor  unity  of  purpose.  Its  funds  were 
embezzled  or  misapplied,  and  in  tangible  military  results 
it  accomplished  nothing.  But  its  moral  influence  upon 
the  nation  was  powerful  and  decisive.  The  whole  body 
of  the  Greek  people  was  roused  to  an  eager  enthusiasm 
in  the  common  cause;  they  were  kept  quick  and  alert, 
and  ready  to  throw  themselves  at  once  into  the  revolu- 
tionary movement  whenever  the  signal  should  be  given. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


THE  GREEK  REVOLUTION.  > 

FALL  OF  ALI  PASHA  —  REVOLT  OF  THE  GREEKS — THE 
TURKS  COMPLETELY  DEFEATED  IN  FOUR  CAM- 
PAIGNS —  GREEK  INDEPENDENCE  FAIRLY  WON  IN 
1824. 

In  February,  1820,  the  fetwa  of  the  Grand  Mufti  was 
pronounced  declaring  AH  Tepeleni,  Vizier  of  Epirus,  fer- 
manli,  and  under  the  ban  of  the  Empire.  In  this  emer- 
gency the  Vizier  gathered  his  forces  for  a  desperate  re- 
sistance, while  the  Sultan  prepared  for  an  equally  despe- 
rate effort  to  destroy  him.  On  both  sides  the  Christians 
of  Greece  Avere  summoned  to  arms;  a  call  which,  on  both 
sides,  was  eagerly  and  promptly  obeyed.  This  was  a 
step  which,  in  the  weakness  of  the  Ottoman  government 
at  that  time,  could  not  be  retraced.  In  three  months  the 
whole  of  Northern  Greece  was  in  arms,  and,  in  reality 
though  not  by  any  overt  insurrectionary  act,  the  Greek 
Revolution  was  begun.  The  Vizier  seemed  irresistibly 
strong ;  and  so  perhaps  he  would  have  been  if  he  cor'd 

*  Howe's  Historical  Sketch  of  the  Greek  Revolution. 
Tennent's  Sketch  of  the  Greek  Revolution. 
Gordon's  History  of  the  Greek  Revolution. 


THE  GREEK  REVOLUTIOir,  225 

have  overcome  his  own  avarice,  and  made  a  judicious  use 
of  his  treasures.  But  this  he  could  not  do,  and,  as  the 
Turkish  forces  approached,  his  sons  and  most  trusted 
commanders  all  deserted  his  cause,  ^  almost  without  a 
blow.  By  the  end  of  August  AH  had  left  his  capital  a 
mass  of  smoking  ruins  to  be  occupied  by  Ismael  Pasha, 
the  Turkish  Seraskier  (commander-in-chief),  and  had  re- 
tired with  a  few  followers  to  his  impregnable  fortress  in 
the  lake.  Ismael  Pasha  had  invited  the  Suliots  to  join 
his  standard,  promising  them  full  restoration  to  their 
country  and  their  ancient  freedom.  The  Suliots  obeyed 
his  call,  but  the  promises  were  not  fulfilled.  Exasperated 
at  last  by  the  contemptuous  neglect  with  which  he  and 
his  countrymen  had  been  treated  by  the  Turks,  Marco 
Botzaris  made  his  way  to  the  Vizier,  who  still  held  pos- 
session of  the  Suliot  fortresses,  and  proposed  to  him  that 
if  he  would  give  up  the  fortresses  to  the  Suliots,  with  the 
sum  of  ten  thousand  dollars  to  enable  them  to  send  for 
their  families,  they  would  at  once  desert  the  Seraskier's 
army  and  begin  a  guerrilla  warfare  against  him.  Ali 
readily  acceded  to  these  terms,  and  on  the  24th  of  No- 
vember the  Suliots  left  the  Turkish  camp.  This  secession 
of  the  Suliots  was  the  first  act  of  open  rebellion,  the  real 
beginning  of  the  revolutionary  war.^  From  that  time 
until  the  whole  tribe  was  completely  wasted  away  by  the 
vicissitudes  of  the  struggle,  the  Suliots  remained  the 
bravest  and  most  determined  enemies  with  whom  the 
Turks  had  to  contend. 

The  Heteria   determined  to  take   advantage   of  this 
conjuncture  of  affairs  to  precipitate  the  Revolution  for 

» Howe,  34-36. 


226  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

which  it  had  been  so  long  preparing  the  way.  Wallachia 
and  Moldavia  were  ripe  for  revolt ;  and  as  the  Greeks 
were  looking  confidently  to  Russia  for  support  and  ef- 
fective aid,  it  was  decided  to  make  these  provinces  the 
theater  of  the  first  insurrectionary  movement.  '  Accord- 
ingly, Prince  *  Alexander  Ypselanti,  the  Arche  or  Chief 
of  the  Heteria,  raised  the  standard  of  revolt  at  Yassi,  on 
the  7th  of  March,  1821.  The  people  of  both  provinces 
flew  to  arms,  and  in  a  few  days  considerable  forces  had 
been  assembled.  But  the  expected  favor  of  the  Russian 
authorities  was  denied ;  the  Emperor  Alexander  frowned 
upon  the  movement,  and  under  this  chilling  influence  k 
rapidly  declined,  until  it  was  ended  by  the  battle  o^ 
Stinga,  on  the  19th  of  June.  The  insurgents  were  en, 
tirely  scattered  or  cut  to  pieces ;  Ypselanti  fled  north- 
wards, and  was  consigned  to  an  Austrian  prison,  and  the 
unhappy  provinces  were  left  to  feel  the  full  weight  of 
Turkish  vengeance. 

The  news  of  this  uprising  of  the  Greeks  reached  the 
capital  in  March,  and  with  these  tidings  came  rumors 
of  a  terrible  plot  to  fire  the  city,  massacre  the  Turkish 
inhabitants,  and  overturn  the  government  of  the  Sultan.2 
These  reports  produced  a  fearful  agitation  among  the 
Turks,  and  roused  their  fanatic  passions  to  fiercest  in- 
tensity. The  leading  Phanariots  were  at  once  seized 
and  put  to  death.  Multitudes  of  Greeks  fled  to  the  ships 
in  the  harbor,  where  they  were  afterwards  hunted  out 
and  killed ;  many  were  slain  in  the  streets,  and  those  who 

*  So  called  because  the  son  of  a  Hospodar  of  Wallachia. 

*  The  actual  existence  of  such  a  plot  seems  to  be  conceded.  See  Tennen^ 
p,  48,  and  Howe,  p.  33. 


THE  GREEK  REVOLUTION.  227 

remained  alive  in  the  city  were  shut  up  in  their  own 
houses.  The  passions  of  the  people  and  the  soldiery 
were  kept  under  some  restraint  until  Easter,  about  the 
middle  of  April,  when  they  burst  forth  with  ungovern- 
able fury.  Gregory,  the  venerable  and  blameless  Patri- 
arch of  Constantinople,  now  ninety  years  of  age,  was 
seized  on  Easter  day  and  hung  at  the  door  of  his  own 
church.  His  body  was  left  hanging  for  some  days  ex- 
posed to  the  insults  of  the  populace,  ancf  was  then  cut 
down  and  given  to  a  party  of  Jews,  who  dragged  it 
through  the  streets  and  threw  it  into  the  harbor.  With 
the  Patriarch  suffered  three  archbishops  and  eight  chap- 
lains of  the  cathedral.  For  four  days  an  indiscriminate 
slaughter  had  gone  on,  and  ten  thousand  Greeks,  by 
flight  or  massacre,  had  disappeared  from  the  city.  The 
same  fanatic  fury  spread  to  the  cities  and  towns  of 
Western  Asia  Minor,  Thrace  and  Macedonia,  and  it  is 
estimated  that  in  three  months  the  blood  of  thirty  thou- 
sand Greeks  had  consecrated  the  opening  of  their  strug- 
gle for  freedom.^ 

Meantime  an  order  had  been  issued  by  the  Divan  ^  for 
disarming  the  Christians  of  the  provinces ;  and  the  at- 
tempt of  a  subordinate  official  to  execute  this  order  in  the 
Morea  kindled  the  flames  of  revolution  at  once  in  every 
part  of  Greece.  The  population  of  the  Morea  at  this 
time  numbered  something  like  half  a  million  of  souls,  of 

^  Tennent,  48-51. 

2  Before  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  **  the  Divan  "  began  to  take  the 
place  of  "  the  Porte,"  as  the  usual  designation  of  the  Ottoman  govern- 
ment. The  Divan  was  properly  the  Turkish  Council  of  State;  and  this 
change  in  the  appellation  of  the  government  indicated  the  decline  of  the 
personal  power  of  the  Sultan. 


228  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

whom  no  more  than  fifteen  or  twenty  thousand  were 
Moslems,  not  including  the  Albanian  soldiers  of  the 
Pasha. ^  The  capital  of  the  province  was  Tripolitza,  a 
town  situated  on  the  high  plateau  of  ancient  Arcadia,  a 
few  miles  south-east  from  the  center  of  the  Peninsula. 
The  Pasha  had  usually  but  a  small  military  force  at  his 
command,  the  eight  fortresses  of  the  Peninsula  being 
deemed  sufficient  to  hold  it  in  subjection.  These  eight 
fortresses  were  Tripolitza,  the  capital ;  Corinth,  Nauplia, 
or  Napoli  di  Romania,  at  the  head  of  the  Gulf  of  Nauplia ; 
Monemvasia,  or  Napoli  di  Malvasia,  on  the  eastern  coast 
of  Maina ;  Koron,  Navarino,  and  Modon,  on  the  south- 
west coast;  Arkadia  on  the  west;  and  the  citadel  of 
Patras  in  the  north-west 

In  March,  1821,  Kurchid  Pasha  of  Tripolitza  was 
absent  with  all  his  available  forces  in  Epirus,  when, 
hearing  of  the  rising  in  Moldavia  and  the  threatening 
state  of  affairs  in  his  own  province,  he  sent  orders  to  his 
kaimacam,  or  lieutenant,  to  summon  the  Greek  primates 
to  Tripolitza,  to  hold  them  as  hostages,  and  to  disarm  the 
Morea.  The  orders  were  given,  and  a  few  bishops  and 
primates  obeyed.  The  majority,  however,  delayed,  feel- 
ing that  the  decisive  hour  had  come.  Among  these  was 
Germanos,  Bishop  of  Patras.  Germanos  had  set  out  for 
Tripolitza,  and  had  reached  Calavrita,  a  town  among  the 
mountains  between  Achaia  and  Arcadia,  when  he  sud- 
denly paused,  and,  on  the  4th  of  April,  1 821,  amid  a 
great  concourse  of  peasants,  raised  the  standard  of  the 
cross  and  called  his  countrymen  to  arms.^ 

*  Hobhouse,  i.  p.  196. 

I  «  On  our  way  down  the  mountain,  our  guide  had  pointed  out  to  us  in 


THE  GREEK  REVOLUTION,  229 

The  response  was  instant  and  universal.  The  whole 
Christian  population  of  the  Morea  flew  to  arms,  the 
Turks  were  driven  to  the  fortresses,  and  an  assembly  of 
primates  convened  at  Calamata,  under  the  name  of  the 
Senate  of  Messenia,  proceeded  at  once  to  organize  the 
rebellion,  sent  for  arms  and  ammunition  to  the  ports  of 
the  Mediterranean,  and  issued  manifestoes  to  the  people 
of  Greece  and  the  governments  of  Europe.  The  Islands 
of  the  Cyclades  caught  the  flame  and  joined  in  the 
revolt,  and  on  the  28th  of  April  a  fleet  of  twenty- two 
vessels,  fitted  out  by  Hydra,  Spetzia,  and  Ipsara,  sailed 
to  cruise  in  the  Archipelago.^  Before  the  end  of  June 
the  whole  of  the  Morea,  except  the  fortresses,  was  in 
the  hands  of  the  insurgents,  while  extensive  districts  ot 
Northern  Greece  were  also  in  arms. 

As  soon  as  intelligence  of  these  movements  reached 
Kurchid  Pasha,  who  meantime  had  been  appointed  to 
the  chief  command  in  Epirus,  he  dispatched  his  lieuten- 
ant Mohammed  with  six  thousand  men  to  quell  the  insur- 
rection. Mohammed  crossed  the  Gulf  of  Corinth  to  Pa- 
tras,  passed  eastwards  across  the  peninsula,  ravaging  the 

the  distance  a  large  edifice,  about  a  couple  of  miles  southward  of  Calavrita, 
as  the  Monastery  of  St.  Laura,  where  the  plan  of  revolt  already  concocted  at 
iPatras  was  fully  perfected  by  the  original  conspirators,  who,  headed  by  the 
Archbishop  of  that  city,  had  gone  thither  upon  the  pretext  of  a  journey  to 
Tripolitza,  to  escape  the  narrow  inspection  to  which  the  presence  of  the 
Turks  subjected  them.  From  this  place,  when  the  plot  was  quite  ripe  for 
execution,  letters  were  sent  throughout  the  breadth  of  the  land  to  apprise 
all  the  patriots  of  the  design." — Baird's  Modern  Greece,  p.  224. 

Germanos  held  a  military  command  for  a  short  time,  but  soon  resigned  it 
for  a  more  appropriate  post  in  the  Senate.  He  died  in  1825,  leaving  behind 
him  a  historical  work  of  great  value  on  the  first  three  years  of  the  war, 
entitled  "  Memoirs  of  the  Revolution." — Id.,  334, 

^  Howe,  p.  47. 


33P  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

country  as  he  went,  sacked  and  burned  Vostitza,  rein- 
forced the  garrisons  of  Corinth  and  Nauplia,  and  retired 
within  the  walls  of  Tripolitza.  In  May,  Mohammed 
marched  to  attack  an  insurrectionary  force  of  about  twen- 
ty-five hundred  Greeks  posted  at  Lalla,  near  Pyrgos  in 
Elis,*  under  Colocotroni,  from  this  time  one  of  the  most 
prominent  (and  worthless)  leaders  of  the  Revolution,  and 
Germanos,  Bishop  of  Patras.  He  hoped  by  one  decisive 
blow  to  end  the  rebellion,  but  the  result  proved  exactly 
contrary  to  his  expectation.  His  troops  were  received 
with  a  fire  so  deadly  that  they  were  utterly  routed,  and 
pursued  to  the  walls  of  Tripolitza.  This  defeat  ended  the 
operations  of  the  Turks  in  the  Morea  for  the  year  1821, 
and  raised  the  courage  and  enthusiasm  of  the  Greeks  to 
the  highest  pitch. 

Meanwhile  Tombazi  was  at  sea  with  his  squadron  of 
Greek  merchant  vessels  armed  with  a  few  small  cannon^ 
when  the  first  division  of  the  Turkish  fleet,  consisting  of 
five  ships  of  the  line,  four  frigates,  and  a  number  of  trans- 
ports, issued  from  the  Dardanelles.  The  two  fleets  came 
in  sight  of  each  other  on  the  5th  of  June,  but  the  Capitan 
Pasha,  afraid  to  risk  an  engagement,  retired  within  the 
harbor  of  the  Euripus,  and  dispatched  a  fifty-gun  frigate 
to  Constantinople  to  hasten  the  sailing  of  the  other  divi-- 
sion  of  the  fleet.  Tombazi  promptly  pursued  this  frigate, 
drove  it  on  shore,  attacked  it  with  a  fire-ship,  and  burned 
it  to  the  water's  edge.  This  was  the  first  use  of  an  agency 
by  which,  all  through  the  war,  the  Greeks  won  most  of 
their  successes  at  sea  and  kept  their  enemies  in  constant 

^  This  is  Dr.  Howe's  statement  (p.  45),  while  Tennent  (p.  56)  places  the 
scene  of  this  action  at  Valtezi,  a  village  a  few  leagues  east  from  Tripolitza. 


THE  GREEK  REVOLUTION,  231 

terror.  Tombazi  then  stood  south-east  to  the  coast  of 
Asia  Minor,  hoping  to  rouse  the  Greeks  of  those  regions 
to  revolt.  He  was  in  time,  however,  only  to  witness  the 
awful  massacres  at  Smyrna  and  Aivali,  about  the  middle 
of  June,  and  to  take  on  board  five  thousand  wretched 
fugitives  from  the  latter  place,  all  that  remained  of  its 
population  of  thirty  thousand,  and  of  what  but  one  week 
before  had  been  one  of  the  most  flourishing  and  most 
beautiful  cities  of  the  East^ 

In  June,  Prince  Demetrius  Ypselanti,  a  brother  of  Alex- 
ander, arrived  in  the  Morea,  and  was  appointed  to  the 
command  of  the  Greek  forces.  Demetrius  Ypselanti  was 
honest,  patriotic,  and  brave,  but  insignificant  in  personal 
appearance,  destitute  of  commanding  abilities,  proud  and 
vain.  The  Moreot  primates  and  leaders  disliked  him  and 
united  against  him  ;  he  accomplished  little,  and  soon  dis- 
appeared from  the  scene.^ 

Early  in  the  summer  another  Phanariot  noble  appeared 
in  Greece  who  was  destined  to  prove  the  real  leader  of 
the  Revolution.  This  was  Prince  Alexander  Mavrocor- 
dato,  a  man  of  polished  manners,  liberal  education,  and 
unquestioned  patriotism,  and  who,  amid  ample  opportu- 
nities for  dishonest  gain,  remained  always  poor;  but 
somewhat  foppish  and  vain,  destitute  of  eminent  ability, 
and,  true  to  his  Phanariot  education,  inclined  to  a  crafty 
,and  tortuous  policy.     Mavrocordato  was  in  France  at  the 

^  Howe,  p.  $8. 

2  He  lived,  however,  to  see  his  country  independent,  and  to  win,  in 
1829,  the  last  battle  fought  by  land  with  the  Turks.  At  his  death  he  left 
his  whole  fortune  to  found  a  school  at  Nauplia,  at  which,  in  1854,  three  or 
four  hundred  students  were  pursuing  their  studies. — Felton's  CJreece,  An- 
cient and  Modern,  vol.  ii.  pp.  454,  517. 


11 


232  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

breaking  out  of  the  rebellion,  but,  loading  a  brig  with 
arms  and  supplies,  he  sailed  to  Mesolonghi,  and  devoted 
himself  with  zeal  and  success  to  organize  the  Revolution 
in  Suli  and  Acarnania,  the  south-western  districts  of 
Northern  Greece.  At  the  beginning  of  July  there  were 
said  to  be  more  than  eighteen  thousand  Greeks  in  arms, 
and  for  the  rest  of  the  year  they  remained  masters  of  the 
field.  It  was,  however,  a  singular  and  nondescript  kind 
of  army  which  they  formed.  They  were  frugal,  patient, 
hardy,  and  intensely  patriotic ;  they  would  march  all  day 
upon  no  other  provision  than  a  biscuit  and  an  onion,  and 
lie  down  at  night  with  no  other  covering  than  their  thick 
capotes ;  they  were  brave  enough  in  their  way,  and  be- 
hind breastworks  were  excellent  fighters.  But  they  were 
a  mere  rabble  of  peasants,  armed  with  their  long  guns 
and  yataghans,  with  neither  camp  equipage,  artillery,  or 
military  stores ;  with  neither  organization,  discipline,  or 
habits  of  obedience.  They  would  come  and  go  as  they 
pleased,  and  fight  or  run  as  they  pleased ;  and  their  cap- 
itani  or  leaders  were  more  insubordinate,  more  intrac- 
table than  they.^ 

By  this  rabble  of  musketeers  the  fortresses  were  speed- 
ily invested,  and  in  the  course  of  the  year  several  of  them 
were  starved  into  surrender.  Arkadia,  Monemvasia,  and 
Navarino  were  taken  in  the  latter  part  of  the  summer, 
and  Tripolitza  on  the  Sth  of  October.  Upon  the  fall  of 
these  fortresses,  a  terrible  vengeance  was  exacted  for  the 
rivers  of  Greek  blood  which  had  flowed  earlier  in  the 
season.  The  garrison  of  Navarino,  more  than  four  hun- 
dred starving  wretches,  were  slaughtered  in  cold  blood,* 
*  Howe,  pp.  60-1.  *  Tcnnent,  p.  61. 


THE  GREEK  REVOLUTION,  235 

while  a  worse  fate  was  reserved  for  Tripolitza,  the  capital. 
Into  this  city  were  crowded  almost  all  the  Turks  of  the 
Morea,  with  all  their  movable  wealth.  Reduced  at  last 
to  utter  starvation,  and  seeking  in  vain  for  some  com- 
petent authority  to  which  it  might  safely  surrender,  the 
place  was  taken  by  surprise,  and  the  whole  Moslem  pop- 
ulation, excepting  the  Albanian  soldiers,  who  saved  them* 
selves  by  their  arms,  was  remorselessly  put  to  the  sword. 
Fifteen  thousand  dead  bodies  choked  the  ruined  streets, 
and  an  enormous  booty  was  divided  among  the  selfish 
and  bloodthirsty  capitani.^ 

After  the  fall  of  Tripolitza,  Demetrius  Ypselanti  issued 
a  call  for  a  national  convention  of  the  Greeks  to  meet  at 
Tripolitza  on  the  first  of  November.  The  convention 
assembled,  but,  owing  to  the  terrible  condition  of  the 
city,  found  it  necessary  to  adjourn  to  Epidaurus,  where  a 
Declaration  of  Independence  and  Constitution  were 
drawn  up,  which  were  promulgated  to  the  nation  in 
January,  1822.  Alexander  Mavrocordato  was  chosen 
President  of  the  new  government,  and  at  once  entered 
upon  the  Herculean  task  before  him. 

The  year  1822  opened  with  events  of  great  importance 
to  the  Greeks.  The  establishment  of  the  new  constitution 
and  something  like  a  regular  government  gave  the  Revo- 
lution a  new  character  and  new  importance  in  the  eyes 
of  Europe.  And  although  the  Powers  of  the  Holy  Alli- 
ance, Great  Britain  not  excepted,  frowned  upon  the 
movement,  and  did  everything  in  their  power  indirectly 
to  suppress  this  rising  of  an  oppressed  people  against 
constituted  authority,  the  sympathies  of  the  people  were 
•  Howe,  pp.  79-81. 


234  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

everywhere  deeply  stirred  in  behalf  of  the  struggling 
Greeks.  On  the  22d  of  January,  Corinth  surrendered  to 
Ypselanti,  and  in  Februa\y,  Ali  Pasha  of  Yannina,  having 
already  surrendered  to  Kurchid  Pasha,  was  treacherously 
stabbed,  thus  leaving  the  Divan  free  to  put  forth  all  its 
energies  for  the  suppression  of  the  Greek  rebellion. 

The  plan  adopted  by  the  Turkish  authorities  for  the 
military  operations  of  the  year  was  ably  conceived,  and 
might  well  have  seemed  sure  of  success.  The  fleet  was 
to  sail  early  and  in  irresistible  force,  and  having  entered 
the  Gulf  of  Corinth,  was  to  be  in  readiness  to  transport 
the  army  of  the  Seraskier  from  Mesolonghi  to  Patras ; 
while  a  second  army  was  to  move  southwards  from  Thes- 
saly,  and  enter  the  Morea  by  the  Isthmus  of  Corinth. 
The  first  blow  of  the  year  fell  upon  unhappy  Scio.  This 
island,  so  beautiful  and  peaceful,  so  prosperous  and  weal- 
thy, which  for  more  than  three  hundred  years  had  been 
one  of  the  brightest  jewels  in  the  Ottoman  crown,  had 
been  precluded  by  its  situation  from  taking  any  active 
part  in  the  revolt,  and  had  remained  perfectly  quiet, 
until,  on  the  17th  of  March,  a  band  of  six  hundred  Sami- 
ans  landed  upon  the  island,  and,  rallying  a  few  peasants 
to  their  aid,  drove  the  Turks  to  the  citadel.  The  Sciots 
now  saw  that  the  die  was  cast,  and  that  their  only  hope 
lay  in  joining  their  revolted  countrymen  and  driving  the 
Turks  from  the  island.  They  accordingly  laid  siege  to 
the  citadel,  and  sent  urgent  entreaties  to  the  Morea  for 
arms  and  help.) 

But  on  the  nth  of  April  the  Turkish  fleet  arrived  and 
cast  anchor  in  the  port.  The  Capitan  Pasha  landed  six 
thousand  men  from  his  ships,  and  spent  three  days  in 


THE  GREEK  REVOLUTION,  235 

bringing  over  a  horde  of  Turks  from  the  mainland.  On 
the  15  th  the  preparations  were  complete,  the  signal 
was  given,  and  the  dreadful  work  began.  Of  the  eighty 
thousand  inhabitants  of  Scio,  twenty  thousand  were  put  to 
the  sword,  and  as  many  more  were  driven  on  board  the 
fleet  to  be  sold  for  slaves.  Of  the  remaining  forty  thou- 
sand, some  concealed  themselves  in  the  interior,  while 
the  majority  escaped  by  sea.  "  And  when  the  Capitan 
Pasha  sailed  for  the  coast  of  Natolia,  he  moved  from  a 
shore  where  not  a  living  form  was  visible  ;  a  thin  column 
of  smoke  curled  upwards  from  the  ruins  of  Scio,  and 
silence,  desolation,  and  death  reigned  throughout  the 
lately  beautiful  and  opulent  island."  ^ 

^But  speedy  and  terrible  was  the  retribution  which 
overtook  the  Capitan  Pasha,  the  inhuman  monster  who 
had  perpetrated  this  awful  crime.  On  the  night  of  the 
■22d  of  June  the  fleet  was  again  at  anchor  in  the  Straits 
of  Scio,  when  Constantine  Kanaris^  of  Ipsara,  a  name 
famous  forever  among  the  heroes  •  of  the  sea,  sailed 
quietly  into  the  midst  of  it  upon  a  fire-ship.  Driving 
full  upon  the  huge  flagship  of  the  admiral,  he  fired  the 
train  with  his  own  hands,  leaped  into  his  boat  and  safely 
escaped.  In  a  few  minutes  both  ships  were  a  mass  of 
flames.  The  Capitan  Pasha,  attempting  to  escape  in  his 
boat,  was  crushed  by  a  falling  mast,  and  his  ship  with 

^  Teiment,  p.  71. 

^  Kanaris  lived  to  prove  himself  one  of  the  best  and  wisest  public  men 
of  Hberated  Greece,  and  to  enjoy  in  a  green  old  age  the  honors  so  nobly 
earned  in  the  revolutionary  struggle.  He  was  one  of  the  three  men  who 
formed  the  Provisional  Governmer.t  of  Greece  upon  the  expulsion  of  King 
Otho  in  1862,  and  whose  wisdom  and  moderation  commanded  the  approvaJ 
of  all.     See  Edinburgh  Review  for  April,  1863,  p.  306. 


*36  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

its  crew  of  twelve  hundred  men  was  totally  consumed. 
On  the  same  day  with  this  brilliant  achievement  the 
Acropolis  of  Athens  surrendered  to  the  Greeks. 

The  military  operations  of  Kurchid  Pasha  were  de- 
layed, and  all  his  well-laid  plans  finally  defeated,  by  the 
heroic  stand  made  by  the  Suliots  in  their  native  moun- 
tains. Through  the  whole  summer  of  the  year  1822 
the  armies  of  the  Seraskier  were  held  at  bay,  and  not 
until  September  did  the  Suliots  finally  surrender,  when 
they  were  once  more  transported  to  the  Ionian  Islands. 

Meanwhile,  early  in  July,  the  Seraskier  had  dispatched 
Drama  Ali  Pasha  with  thirty  thousand  men  to  ravage 
Thessaly,  Boeotia,  Attica,  and  Megaris,  and  to  enter  the 
Morea  by  the  Isthmus  of  Corinth.  The  southward  march 
of  Drama  AH  was  marked  by  the  most  fiendish  atroci- 
ties.^   He  met  with  no  opposing  force,  passed  the  Isthmus 

*  *•  The  Turkish  hordes  scattered  themselves  over  Phocis  and  Boeotia, 
plundering  and  burning ;  enslaving,  torturing,  and  murdering.  No  resistance 
was  made — none  could  be  made.  The  peaceful  villages,  scattered  over  the 
country,  were  in  apparent  security,  and  the  peasantry  would  hardly  get  the 
terrible  news  of  an  invasion,  ere  the  tramp  of  horses  and  the  wild  hurra  of  the 
horsemen  would  be  heard,  as  they  came  rushing  into  the  village  and  cut  down 
all  they  met.  They  then  galloped  up  and  down  the  streets,  waving  their 
bloody  scimeters  and  firing  their  pistols,  till  they  were  certain  nothing  was 
left  to  oppose  and  endanger  themselves  ;  when,  bursting  into  the  rooms 
where  the  half-distracted  females  had  shut  themselves  up,  they  would 
butcher  one  or  two,  the  more  to  intimidate  the  rest,  and  then  force  them  to 
tell  where  their  husbands,  brothers  or  sons  had  hid  themselves.  These 
were  dragged  forth,  hacked  to  pieces,  and  their  heads  severed  from  their 
bodies.  •  Give  us  your  money,'  cried  the  brutal  Turks  ;  and  when  all  was 
done,  when  those  poor  females  had  suffered  indignities  worse  than  death, 
they  were  stabbed,  their  noses  and  ears  cut  off,  and  then  left  to  writhe  on 
the  headless  bodies  of  their  relatives.  None  were  spared,  except  perhaps 
the  most  beautiful,  who  were  loaded  with  the  spoils,  and  often  with  a  string 
of  ears  and  noses,  and  driven  off  like  beasts  of  burden.     But  the  scene 


THE  GREEK  REVOLUTION,  237 

on  the  13th  of  July,  advanced  to- Argos,  and  relieved 
the  important  fortress  of  Nauplia  when  on  the  very- 
point  of  surrendering  to  the  Greeks.  But  in  Argos  the 
Pasha  found  himself  fatally  entrapped.  The  crops  had 
been  destroyed,  the  army  had  no  provisions,  the  wild 
mountains  around  were  impracticable  for  cavalry,  and 
every  mountain  and  narrow  pass  was  occupied  by  its 
band  of  Greeks.  The  Turkish  army  soon  became  com- 
pletely demorahzed,  and  in  danger  of  absolute  starva- 
tion. 

Drama  Ali  was  compelled  to  give  the  order  for  retreat. 
But  to  retreat  in  safety  was  impossible.  Between  Argos 
and  Corinth  two  long  and  dangerous  defiles  must  be 
passed,  and  these  defiles  were  filled  with  Greeks,  with 
their  long  muskets  and  their  sharp  yataghans.  The 
Turks  knew  their  danger,  but  there  was  no  escape,  and 
they  rushed  desperately  forward  into  the  narrow  defiles. 
Then  ensued  a  scene  of  awful  carnage  rarely  surpassed 
in  all  the  history  of  war.  From  the  rocks  on  either  side 
the  Greeks  poured  a  torrent  of  balls  upon  the  confused 
and  struggling  mass  below,  and  then,  rushing  down,  as- 
sailed their  panic-stricken  foes  with  the  yataghan.  The 
goiges  were  heaped  with  dead,  and  only  a  few  strag- 
gling fragments  of  the  Turkish  host  emerged  upon  the 
plain  of  Corinth.  But  even  then  there  was  no  escape. 
The  passes  of  the  north  were  occupied,  and  Drama  Ali 
was  compelled  to  remain  at  Corinth,  where  he  died,  and 

closed  not  here  :  some  fugitives  might  still  be  concealed,  or  the  wounded 
might  live ;  the  fire  would  find  what  the  sword  had  missed ;  then  the  torch 
was  applied,  and  as  the  flames  arose,  these  human  tigers  mounted  their 
horses  and  galloped  away  with  wild  yells,  to  seek  in  other  villages  new 
scenes  of  trivunph." — Howe,  p.  13a 


2^8  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

the  last  remnant  of  his  army  surrendered  to  the  Greeks 
in  October,  1823.^  Upon  this  disastrous  failure  of  his 
plans,  Kurchid  Pasha  was  so  overwhelmed  with  shame 
and  despair  that  he  took  poison  and  so  ended  his  life. 

After  the  surrender  of  Suli,  in  September,  Reschid 
Pasha  and  Omer  Vriones  Pasha  ^  moved  southwards  and 
formed  the  siege  of  Mesolonghi.  But  Mavrocordato  and 
Marco  Botzaris  had  improved  the  interval,  allowed  them 
by  the  heroic  resistance  of  the  Suliots,  to  put  this  impor- 
tant place  in  a  good  state  of  defence.  The  siege  was 
kept  up  until  Christmas,  when  it  ended  in  the  hurried 
and  disastrous  retreat  of  the  Turks. 

After  the  defeat  of  Drama  Ali  the  garrison  of  Nauplia 
had  been  again  reduced  to  great  distress,  when  in  Sep- 
tember the  Turkish  fleet  of  some  sixty  ships  of  war  ap- 
peared for  their  relief.  But  Tombazi  was  at  hand  with 
his  little  Greek  brigs  and  fire-ships,  and  so  frightened  the 
Capitan  Pasha  that  he  turned  and  sailed  away  without 
so  much  as  entering  the  harbor.  The  garrison  had  now 
lost  all  hope,  and  on  the  12th  of  December  NaupHa  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  Greeks.  Constantine  Kanaris  fol- 
lowed the  Turkish  fleet  with  two  fire-ships,  and  at  Tene- 
dos,  on  the  night  of  October  21st,  succeeded  for  the 
second  time  in  burning  the,  flagship  of  the  Capitan 
Pasha  with  nearly  all  on  board.    Terrified  at  this  disaster, 


^  Tennent,  p.  74;  Howe,  pp.  129-40. 

2  Omer  Vriones,  who  figured  so  extensively  among  the  Turkish  leaders 
in  the  first  three  years  of  the  war,  was  an  Albanian  Bey  firora  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Berat,  who  had  accumulated  great  riches  by  ten  years  of  fighting 
and  plimdering  in  the  service  of  Mehemet  Ali,  Viceroy  of  Egypt— Leake's 
Northern  Greece,  voL  iv.  p>  219. 


THE  GREEK  REVOLUTION.  259 

the  fleet  retired  precipitately  within  the  Dardanelles,  and 
so  ended  the  naval  operations  of  the  year. 

The  military  operations  of  the  year  1823  were  confined 
almost  wholly  to  Northern  Greece.  Mustapha  Pasha  of 
Scodra  (Scutari)  was  appointed  to  the  chief  command, 
and  the  plan  adopted  for  the  campaign  was  similar  to 
that  of  the  previous  year.  But  such  were  the  mutual 
hatred  and  dissensions  of  the  Turkish  leaders,  that  their 
forces  were  slow  in  assembling,  and  were  feeble  and  in- 
efficient at  last.^  The  Seraskier  was  moving  southwards 
with  twelve  thousand  men,  when  at  Karpenisi,  a  small 
village  among  the  mountains  between  Thessaly  and 
Acarnania,  at  midnight  on  the  19th  of  August,  he  was 
suddenly  attacked  by  Marco  Botzaris  with  twelve  hun- 
dred Suliots.  The  Turkish  army  was  utterly  routed  and 
scattered ;  but  the  victory  was  dearly  bought.  Botzaris 
had  penetrated  almost  to  the  tent  of  the  Seraskier  when 
he  was  struck  by  a  random  shot  and  instantly  killed. 
Thus  ended  the  brief  career  of  the  noblest  patriot  and 
ablest  military  leader  of  the  Greek  Revolution.  The  fall 
of  Botzaris  left  Mustapha  Pasha  free  to  reassemble  his 
scattered  forces  and  start  again  upon  his  southward  march. 
In  October  he  reached  the  Gulf  of  Corinth,  where  a 
feeble  and  fruitless  attempt  to  capture  Anatolico,  a  small 
outpost  of  Mesolonghi,  ended  his  operations  for  the  year. 

^  Mustapha  Pasha,  the  powerful  Pasha  of  Scutari,  was  an  able  and  ener- 
getic commander,  who  could  bring  into  the  field  a  force  of  thirty  thousand 
men.  If  he  had  chosen  to  do  so,  '^e  might  have  ended  the  Greek  rebellion 
in  a  single  campaign.  But  such  a  result  was  very  far  from  his  purpose. 
His  great  enemy  was  Sultan  Mahmoud  himself;  and  his  great  aim  was  to 
avoid  wasting  his  own  forces,  or  strengthening  the  government  against  him^ 
sel£ — Ranke's  Servia  and  Bosnia,  p.  335. 


240  THE  MODERN  CREEKS. 

The  eastern  division  of  the  Seraskier's  army,  under  Ber- 
kofzali  Pasha,  met  with  no  better  success.  It  advanced 
as  far  as  Attica,  where  it  was  met  and  routed  by  Ulysses, 
a  famous  partisan  leader  who  held  command  of  the  Aero- 
poHs  of  Athens/ 

The  year  1823  was  chiefly  noted  for  an  open  rupture 
in  the  Greek  Provisional  Government,  which  had  long 
been  divided  into  two  hostile  factions..  On  the  one  hand 
was  the  military  party,  headed  by  Colocotroni  and  other 
lawless  military  chiefs,  and  supported  by  a  considerable 
part  of  the  army ;  on  the  other  was  the  party  of  order 
and  constitutional  government,  headed  by  Mavrocordato, 
and  supported  by  the  Islanders,  the  fleet,  and  the  great 
body  of  the  nation.  So  far  were  the  dissensions  between 
these  two  parties  carried  that  in  December,  1823,  the 
military  party  seceded  and  set  up  as  a  rival  government, 
while  Colocotroni  and  the  other  chiefs  stood  out  in  open 
rebellion.  For  six  months  a  state  of  mild  civil  war  pre- 
vailed in  the  Morea,  though  little  blood  was  shed  on 
either  side.  The  government,  however,  was  sustained 
by  the  public  sentiment  of  the  nation,  and  in  the  course 
of  the  following  summer  the  military  chiefs,  having  been 
deserted   by  their  own  followers,  were  obliged  to  sur- 


^  Ulysses  had  been  in  the  service  of  Ali  Pasha  of  Yannina,  and  in  hardi- 
hood and  power  of  endurance,  as  well  as  in  valor  and  lawless  independence, 
was  a.n  excellent  example  of  the  Greek  Klepht.  He  first  attracted  the 
notice  and  won  the  favor  of  the  Vizier  by  an  astonishing  feat  in  running. 
He  challenged  the  best  horse  in  Ali's  stud  to  run  with  him  on  rising 
ground,  until  the  horse  should  drop  down  dead,  engaging  to  forfeit  his 
head  if  he  did  not  win  the  race.  The  race  was  run,  the  horse  fell,  and 
his  human  rival  won  the  race.  Froja  that  day  the  fortunes  of  Ulysses  were 
established. — Howe,  p.  161, 


THE  GREEK  REVOLUTION,  241 

render  one  by  one,  and  were  imprisoned  on  the  island  of 
Hydra. 

The  military  operations  of  the  Turks  in  the  campaign 
of  1824  were  very  feeble  and  led  to  no  result.  By  sea, 
however,  they  succeeded  in  inflicting  a  terrible  blow  upon 
the  Greeks.  Miaulis,^  one  of  the  noblest  heroes  of  the 
Greek  Revolution,  was  at  this  time  in  command  of  the 
Greek  fleet,  but  for  want  of  money  had  not  been  able  to 
get  his  vessels  ready  for  sea,  when,  in  the  beginning  of 
June,  the  Capitan  Pasha  sailed  from  the  Dardanelles. 
Having  taken  on  board  a  body  of  Albanian  troops  at 
Saloniki,  the  Turkish  fleet  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  sail 
rendezvoused  at  Mitylene,  whence,  suddenly  and  without 
warning,  it  swooped  down  upon  the  island  of  Ipsara. 
Ipsara,  opulent,  beautiful,  and  prosperous,  contained  at 
this  time  a  population  of  twenty-five  thousand  souls. 
On  the  3d  of  July  the  Turks  landed  on  the  back  of  the 
island,  where  the  scenes  of  Scio  were  re-enacted  in  all 
their  horror.     For  two  days  the  work  of  slaughter  and 

*  "  Miaulis  was  born  at  Hydra,  and  educated  on  the  water;  he  is  about 
sixty  years  of  age ;  his  frame,  large  and  rather  corpulent,  is  well  made  and 
full  of  vigor.  .  .  .  Strangers  are  always  struck  by  his  patriarchal  appear- 
ance, and  after  ever  so  short  an  interview,  go  away  satisfied  that  there  is  at 
least  one  honest,  pure  patriot  in  Greece.  .  .  .  For  a  great  number  of  years 
he  sailed  in  his  own  ship,  and  by  commerce  gained  a  very  considerable  for- 
tune ;  and  always  stood  high  in  character  among  the  Hydraots.  .  .  .  When 
once  the  blow  was  struck  he  embarked  heartily  in  the  cause,  and  has  ever 
been  foremost  in  exposing  himself,  in  sacrificing  his  fortune,  in  giving  an 
example  of  obedience  to  government,  and  perfect  disinterestedness  of  ac- 
tion. Such  is  the  man  who  commanded  the  Greek  fleet ;  and  so  irreproach- 
able is  his  character,  that  even  in  Greece,  where  the  people  are  so  jealous 
and  suspicious  of  their  leading  men  that  the  least  foible  cannot  escape  them, 
no  voice  is  ever  raised  against  Miaulis ;  all  parties  unite  in  considering  him 
perfectly  pure  and  disinterested  in  his  patriotism*" — Howe,  pp  165-67. 

II 


242  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

pillage  went  on,  and  on  the  third  day  the  Turks  sailed 
away,  leaving  Ipsara  a  desert.  This  great  crime  was  not 
wholly  unavenged.  No  sooner  did  the  sad  intelligence 
reach  Hydra  than  Miaulis,  hastening  to  sea  with  his  half- 
furnished  vessels,  sailed  to  Ipsara,  and  drove  the  Turkish 
garrison  from  the  island.  Then  attacking  a  Turkish  fleet 
of  twenty  vessels  cruising  in  the  neighborhood,  he  burned 
one  of  them,  captured  two,  and  drove  the  rest  ashore  on 
the  island  Scio,  where  the  ships  were  destroyed,  though 
the  crews  escaped. 

With  the  full  establishment  of  the  authority  of  the 
Greek  Government  in  the  summer  of  1824,  the  war 
of  the  Revolution  ought  to  have  come  to  an  end.  As 
between  the  Greeks  and  the  Turks,  the  contest  had  been 
fought  out.  The  Turks  were  powerless  for  any  further 
effective  opposition ;  the  Greeks  were  masters  of  the  situ- 
ation, the  Revolution  was  an  accomplished  fact  *'  The 
situation  of  Greece  at  the  commencement  of  1825  was 
one  in  every  way  gratifying  to  the  feelings  of  the  philan- 
thropist and  the  patriot ;  every  branch  of  her  adminis- 
tration, civil  and  military,  seemed  to  have  acquired 
strength  and  pernianence  by  the  successful  continuance 
of  the  revolutionary  struggle.  The  government  was 
universally  respected  and  obeyed,  their  councils  had 
been  freed  from  the  contamination  of  the  factions  and 
the  disaffected  among  the  chieftains,  and  the  whole  avail- 
able forces  of  the  nation  were  thoroughly  at  the  disposal 
of  the  ministry,  with  the  exception  of  the  clans  of  Liva- 
dia.  .  .  .  An  effective  judiciary  system  had  been  estab- 
lished throughout  the  recovered  provinces ;  .  .  .  schools 
on  the  Lancasterian  system  were  established  in  all  the 


THE  GREEK  RE  VOL  UTION.  243 

principal  towns ;  and  journals,  issuing  from  the  presses 
of  Hydra,  Athens,  and  Mesolon'ghi,  were  disseminated 
throughout  every  district  and  island.  The  enthusiasm  of 
the  nation  was  universally  excited,  the  government  was 
already  in  firm  possession  of  an  extended  territory,  the 
blockade  of  Patras  was  resumed,  and  such  measures  taken 
as  promised,  in  a  brief  period,  to  place  them  in  possession 
of  the  two  trifling  fortresses  which  the  Turks  still  occu- 
pied in  Messenia."  ^ 

Under  these  circumstances,  the  governments  of  West- 
ern Europe  ought  to  have  interfered,  as  they  did  with  far 
less  reason  three  years  later,  to  insist  that  the  war  should 
cease,  and  that  the  Greeks  should  be  left  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  their  fairly  earned  freedom.  A  strong  enthusi- 
asm had  been  awakened  in  behalf  of  the  Greeks,  and  the 
people  in  every  part  of  Europe  were  ready  and  eager  for 
such  an  intervention.  But  not  so  the  despotic  sovereigns 
of  the  league  forever  infamous  under  the  name  of  the 
Holy  Alliance.  Those  guardians  of  order  would  tolerate 
no  form  of  revolution,  no  rebellion  of  the  people  against 
constituted  authority,  even  of  enslaved  Christians  against 
their  Turkish  tyrants.  They  therefore  looked  coldly  on 
while  the  Sultan,  utterly  foiled  and  defeated  in  his  own 
efforts  to  subdue  the  Greeks,  called  in  the  powerful  dis- 
ciplined army  of  his  nominal  subject  but  most  dangerous 
enemy,  Mehemet  Ali,  Vizier  of  Egypt,  to  ravage  and 
destroy  the  provinces  which  he  could  not  subdue. 

*  Tennent,  pp.  90-91. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 


IBRAHIM  PASHA  IN  THE  MOREA. 

MEHEMET  ALI,  VICEROY  OF  EGYPT — HIS  ARMY  CALLED 
IN  BY  THE  DIVAN  —  THE  GREEKS  POWERLESS  BE- 
FORE A  DISCIPLINED  ARMY  —  FALL  OF  MESOLON- 
GHI  —  FALL  OF  ATHENS  —  RUIN  OF  THE  GREEK 
CAUSE  —  INTERFERENCE  OF  THE  WESTERN  POW- 
ERS—  TREATY  OF  LONDON  —  BATTLE  OF  NAVA- 
RINO  —  GREECE   FREE. 

Mehemet  Ali/  Vizier  or  Viceroy  of  Egypt,  was  an 
Iconian  Turk  from  the  neighborhood  of  Kavala,  in 
south-eastern  Macedonia.  After  the  invasion  of  Egypt 
by  Napoleon  in  1788,  the  Governor  of  Kavala  sent 
thither,  as  his  contingent  for  the  defence  of  the  country, 
a  body  of  three  hundred  Albanians,  under  the  orders  of 
his  son.  Mehemet  Ali  attended  this  expedition,  of  which 
he  was  soon  left  in  command.  In  the  struggle  between 
the  Turks  and  the  Mamalukes,  which  followed  the  expul- 
sion of  the  French,  always  able  to  depend  upon  his  Alba- 
nians, he  conducted  himself  with  such  consummate  craft 
and   ability  that   he  soon  made   himself  master  of  the 

*  Leake's  Northern  Greece,  voL  iiL  pp.  174,  237;  voL  iv.  p.  zig, 
Howe,  pp.  1 71-6. 


MEHEMET  ALL  245 

country.  He  was  now  too  powerful  and  too  necessary  to 
the  Divan  to  be  disregarded,  and  was  named  Pasha  of 
three  tails  and  Vizier  of  Egypt.  The  power  thus  con- 
ferred upon  him  was  speedily  consolidated  and  perma- 
nently established.  In  1807  he  freed  himself  from  the 
Mamalukes.  On  one  bloody  day,  by  measures  of  the 
most  perfidious  treachery,  they  were  everywhere  seized 
and  put  to  death — an  act  by  which  this  ancient  and  mag- 
nificent body  of  horsemen  was  finally  destroyed.  Then 
began  his  so-called  improvements  and  reforms.^  The 
two  millions  of  his  subjects  were  subjected  to  a  system  of 
the  most  grinding  and  relentless  exactions.  Kvery  man 
was  compelled  to  labor  from  sunrise  to  sunset,  and  all  the 
fruits  of  his  toil,  saving  the  smallest  pittance  on  which  life 
could  be  sustained,  were  swept  into  the  treasury  of  the 
Vizier.  The  cultivation  of  cotton,  indigo,  silk,  and  su- 
gar, was  vigorously  pushed.  A  canal  connecting  Alex- 
andria with  the  Nile,  fifty  miles  in  length,  ninety  feet  in 
width,  and  twelve  feet  in  depth,  was  excavated  in  one 
year.  European  arts  and  artisans  were  introduced,  and 
saw  mills,  steam  engines,  and  cotton  mills  were  brought 
into  use.  Arsenals  and  dock- yards  were  established ;  a 
powerful  fleet  of  vessels  of  war  built  in  Europe  was  col- 
lected ;  and  an  army  was  formed,  which  was  organized, 
armed,  and  equipped  on  the  European  system,  and  com- 
manded and  disciplined  by  European  officers,  and  which 
in  a  few  years  numbered  thirty  thousand  men.  At  the 
breaking  out  6f  the  Greek  Revolution,  Mehemet  Ali  was 
more  powerful  than  his  master  the  Sultan,  and  was 
already  in  reality,  as  his  descendants  have  ever  since 

*  Howe,  pp.  1 71-6. 


t46  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

remained,  an  independent  sovereign.  As  yet,  however, 
he  professed  the  most  devoted  loyalty  to  the  Porte.  Ten 
years  later  he  threw  off  the  mask.  His  son,  Ibrahim 
Pasha,  invaded  and  subdued  Syria  in  1832,  and  in  1833 
marched  through  Asia  Minor  upon  Constantinople.  He 
was  already  at  the  gates  of  Brusa,  and  Constantinople 
seemed  about  to  fall  without  a  blow,  when  Nicholas  of 
Russia  interfered,  and  the  throne  of  the  House  of  0th- 
man  was  saved. 

Upon  this  dangerous  vassal,  dreaded  and  feared  as  he 
was,  and  certain  as  such  a  measure  seemed  to  increase  his 
formidable  power,  the  Divan  was  compelled  to  call,  in 
the  year  1824,  to  suppress  the  rebellion  of  the  Greeks. 
Mehemet  AH  responded  with  alacrity  to  the  call,  feeling 
no  doubt  that  Greece  would  soon  and  easily  be  added  to 
his  dominions.  One  hundred  and  fifty  merchant  vessels 
were  hired  for  transports,  and  these  were  attended  by  a 
naval  force  of  thirty-five  frigates  and  many  smaller  ves- 
sels of  war.  Upon  this  fleet  was  embarked  an  army  of 
twenty  thousand  infantry  and  two  thousand  cavalry, 
tolerably  disciplined,  and  thoroughly  furnished  and 
equipped.^ 

The  news  of  this  calling  in  of  Egyptian  mercenaries  to 
crush  the  Greeks  was  heard  with  sympathetic  indignation 
throughout  Europe.  The  interest  of  the  people  in  the 
Greek  cause  was  everywhere  deepened  and  strengthened, 
and  many  men  of  standing  and  influence  hastened  to  de- 
vote to  it  their  personal  services.  Among  these  was  Lord 
Byron,  who  with  liberal  supplies  and  a  loan  to  the  Greek 
government  of  thirty  thousand  dollars,  all  from  his  own 
»  Tennent,  p.  88. 


SAMOS  SAVED,  24J 

private  resources,  arrived  at  Mesolonghi  in  January,  i  24, 
From  this  time,  for  the  four  short  months  which  inter- 
vened before  his  sudden  and  untimely  death,  Lord  Byron 
gave  himself  to  the  cause  he  had  espoused  with  a  gen- 
erous kindness,  and  a  wise,  patient,  and  energetic  devotion 
which  have  made  his  name  forever  dear  to  the  Greeks. 

After  the  destruction  of  Ipsara,  in  the  beginning  of  July, 
1824,  the  Capitan  Pasha  sailed  to  inflict  the  same  doom 
upon  Samos.  For  this  purpose  a  large  land  force  had 
been  collected  upon  the  neighboring  coast  of  Asia  Minor 
to  be  transported  by  the  fleet  to  the  devoted  island.  This 
plan  was  defeated  by  the  arrival  of  Vice- Admiral  Sakturis 
with  his  Greek  brigs  and  fire-ships.  Kanaris  with  his 
fire-ships  grappled  and  burned  a  frigate  under  full  sail ; 
another  fire-ship  burned  a  brig  of  war,  and  a  third  a  cor- 
vette, when  the  Turks  retired  in  consternation,  the  land 
force  disbanded,  and  Samos  was  saved. 

The  Capitan  Pasha  now  thought  only  of  effecting  his 
junction  with  the  Egyptian  fleet,  which  had  sailed  from 
Alexandria  early  in  June.  The  two  fleets  were  united 
on  the  26th  of  August,  but  soon  encountered  Miaulis 
with  a  Greek  fleet  of  seventy  sail.  The  Moslem  com- 
manders were  thwarted  and  confused ;  vessel  after  vessel 
of  their  fleet  was  burned  by  the  Greek  fire-ships,  until  on 
the  7th  of  October  the  Capitan  Pasha,  thoroughly  dis- 
heartened, retired  to  Constantinople.  "Ibrahim  Pasha 
could  only  curse  God  and  man,  kill  or  bastinado  his 
oflicers  and  men  for  their  poltroonery,"^  and  get  his  own 
fleet  together  for  an  advance  upon  Candia.  For  three 
days  he  sailed  unmolested,  but  when  very  near  Candia 
*  Howe,  p.  216. 


248  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

the  Greeks  were  again  encountered.  A  sharp  action 
ensued,  which  resulted  in  the  complete  scattering  of  the 
Egyptian  fleet  Eight  ships  returned  to  Alexandria, 
where  the  captains  of  four  of  them,  who  were  Turks, 
were  taken  by  Mehemet  Ali  and  nailed  up  by  the  ears. 
Ibrahim  Pasha  with  the  rest  of  the  fleet  found  refuge  at 
Rhodes. 

These  brilliant  exploits  ended  the  prosperity  of  the 
Greeks.  In  December,  Miaulis  was  obliged  to  return  to 
Hydra,  when  Ibrahim  Pasha,  having  collected  his  scat- 
tered forces,  set  sail  from  Rhodes  and  reached  Candia  in 
safety.  In  February,  1825,  his  fleet  appeared  unexpect- 
edly in  the  harbor  of  Modon  and  landed  eight  thousand 
men.  In  March  the  second  division  of  the  army  was 
safely  disembarked,  and  Ibrahim  laid  siege  to  Navarino 
with  fifteen  thousand  men.  Before  this  disciplined,  per- 
manent, and  amply  furnished  army,  Greece  stood  power- 
less and  helpless.  As  for  anything  that  she  could  do  for 
her  own  salvation,  her  cause  was  lost.  Navarino  sur- 
rendered on  the  23d  of  May,  when  the  Egyptian  army 
moved  inland.  Messenia  was  speedily  overrun,  and  on 
the  20th  of  June,  Ibrahim  appeared  before  Tripolitza, 
which  .the  Greeks  fired  and  abandoned  at  his  approach. 

In  the  meantime  Miaulis  had  not  been  idle.  On  the 
1 2th  of  May  he  sailed  boldly  into  the  harbor  of  Modon 
and  attacked  with  fire-ships  the  fleet  lying  at  anchor  there. 
Two  frigates,  eight  corvettes,  and  a  number  of  trans- 
ports, in  all  about  thirty  vessels,  were  set  on  fire  and  con- 
sumed. About  the  same  time  Sakturis  encountered  the 
Turkish  fleet  as  it  issued  from  the  Dardanelles.  Advanc- 
ing boldly  to  the  attack,  he  burned  three  ships  of  war, 


SIEGE  OF  MESOLONGHL  249 

captured  a  number  of  rich  transports,  and  completely 
scattered  the  fleet.  These  successes,  however,  availed 
but  little.  Ibrahim  Pasha  had  made  good  his  foothold  in 
the  Morea,  and  had  little  difficulty  in  obtaining  all  needed 
reinforcements  and  supplies. 

The  conduct  of  the  war  in  Northern  Greece  for  the 
year  1825  was  intrusted  to  the  Roumeli  Valesi,^  Kiutahi 
Pasha,  an  officer  of  courage,  judgment,  and  abiHty,  who 
infused  into  the  Turkish  military  operations  a  degree  of 
vigor  and  efficiency  long  unknown.  On  the  27th  of 
April  he  appeared  before  Mesolonghi,  and  began  the  third 
siege  of  that  place,  now  containing  a  population  of  about 
twelve  thousand  souls,  and  having  risen  to  be  the  most 
important  city  in  Western  Greece.  The  city  was  bravely 
defended,  and  all  the  skill  and  valor  of  the  Seraskier 
were  put  forth  in  vain  for  its  reduction,  until,  on  the  13th 
of  October,  he  was  obliged  to  suspend  operations  and 
wait  for  the  arrival  of  the  Egyptians.  On  the  25  th  of 
December  Ibrahim  joined  him  with  ten  thousand  disci- 
plined troops,  and  from  that  day  the  doom  of  the  un- 
happy city  was  sealed. 

In  January,  1826,  the  besieged  had  been  reduced  to 
the  last  extreme  of  want  and  distress.  Their  dwellings 
were  ruined  ;  their  fuel,  ammunition,  and  provisions  were 
alike  exhausted ;  their  clothes  were  worn  to  rags,  and 
sickness  was  rapidly  thinning  their  ranks.  At  this  time, 
Miaulis,  by  one  of  the  noblest  deeds  of  his  noble  life, 
forced  his  way  into  the  harbor  with  twenty-four  armed 
brigs,  and  landed  provisions  and  supplies.     Ibrahim  was 

*  Governor-Gvineral  of  Roumelia,  or  European  Turkey  south  of  the  Bal* 
kans. 

II* 


250  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

pressing  the  siege  with  the  utmost  vigor,  and  well- 
founded  hope  of  escape  there  was  none.  Yet  no  word 
was  heard  of  surrender  or  retreat.  Cheerfully  the  rag- 
ged, emaciated  citizens  bade  farewell  to  their  country- 
men, determined  to  defend  their  dearly  loved  city  to  the 
last.  Every  assault  of  the  besiegers  was  fiercely  repulsed, 
and  Ibrahim  was  at  last  compelled  to  await  the  slow  re- 
sults of  famine. 

The  time  at  length  came  when  the  starving  people  of 
the  city  could  hold  out  no  longer.  No  mercy,  no  quar- 
ter was  to  be  hoped  for ;  they  must  either  break  through 
the  Turkish  lines  or  perish  with  the  city.  Their  meas- 
ures were  taken  accordingly.  It  was  determined  that 
those  who  had  strength  and  courage  for  the  attempt 
should  be  assembled  in  two  bodies,  and  endeavor  to 
break  through  the  Turkish  forces  and  escape  to  the 
mountains.  Many  of  the  women  and  children,  the  aged, 
wounded,  and  sick,  all  to  whom  there  was  no  h6pe  of  es- 
cape, were  collected  in  a  large  mill,  in  which  was  stored 
a  great  quantity  of  powder.  They  were  to  make  resist- 
ance enough  to  gather  the  Turks  thickly  about  them, 
and  then  blow  themselves  and  their  enemies  together 
into  the  air.  Under  one  of  the  bastions  a  mine  had 
been  run,  in  which  thirty  barrels  of  powder  had  been 
placed.  A  wounded  old  soldier  took  his  seat  upon  this 
powder,  ready  to  fire  it  when  the  Turks  should  be  crowd- 
ing over  the  wall. 

It  was  on  the  night  of  the  2 2d  of  April  that  the  attempt 
to  escape  was  made.  The  first  body,  consisting  of  about 
three  thousand  persons,  broke  through  the  Turkish  lines, 
and,  with  the  loss    of  four  hundred   of  their  number, 


SIEGE  OF  ATHENS,  251 

reached  the  mountains.  The  second  body,  containing  a 
larger  number  of  women  and  children,  was  less  fortunate. 
They  were  not  ready  when  the  word  to  start  was  given, 
and  were  driven  back  within  the  walls  by  the  Turks.  The 
besiegers  -were  now  streaming  into  the  city  when  the  old 
soldier  in  the  mine  fired  his  train.  An  awful  explosion 
followed,  by  which  hundreds  of  Turks  were  destroyed. 
For  a  few  moments  all  was  still ;  but  soon,  recovering  from 
their  momentary  terror,  the  Turks  again  rushed  forward, 
and  in  a  short  time  almost  the  whole  city  was  in  their 
hands.  The  mill  now  attracted  their  attention ;  and  not 
doubting,  from  the  stubbornness  with  which  it  was 
defended,  that  it  contained  booty  of  great  value,  they 
were  swarming  around  it  in  great  numbers,  endeavoring 
to  force  their  way  in,  when  fire  was  put  to  the  powder, 
and  there  was  another  tremendous  explosion,  another 
awful  destruction  of  human  life.  About  three  thousand 
Greeks  were  slain  at  the  taking  of  the  city,  as  many  more 
were  sold  for  slaves,  and  Mesolonghi  was  left  a  deserted 
ruin.^ 

After  the  fall  of  Mesolonghi,  Ibrahim  Pasha  resumed 
his  ravaging  expeditions  in  the  Morea,  and  the  Seraskier^ 
moved  eastward  for  the  subjugation  of  Boeotia  and  Attica. 
As  the  winter  of  this  year  (1826)  drew  on,  the  Greeks 
found  themselves  in  the  last  extremity  of  weakness  and 
misery.  Athens  had  been  besieged  since  the  17th  of 
August ;  almost  the  whole  of  Northern  Greece  had  been 
effectually  subdued ;  the  islanders,  ruined  and  desperate, 
had  betaken  themselves  to  piracy  ;  the  Morea  was  utterly 
desolate,   and  a  hundred  thousand  of   the  people  were 

*  Howe,  pf  300-9;  Tenncnt,  pp.  102-4.  *  Commander-in-chiefc 


253  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

hiding  in  mountains  and  in  swamps,  without  shelter  of 
clothing  or  food.  Worst  of  all,  the  government  was 
paralyzed  by  dissensions  and  party  spirit,  and  the  selfish 
military  chiefs  seemed  to  be  thinking  only  of  how  they 
might  grasp,  in  the  impending  break-up,  each  one  the 
largest  share  of  plunder  for  himself 

About  this  time,  however,  the  courage  of  the  Greeks 
was  revived  by  the  arrival  of  two  out  of  eight  war  ves- 
sels, contracted  for  from  the  proceeds  of  loans  nego- 
tiated in  London,  and  long  and  anxiously  expected. 
The  Perseverance,  a  steam  corvett^e,  mounting  eight 
sixty-eight-pound  cannon,  reached  Nauplia  on  the  14th 
of  September,  and  the  Hope,  a  fine  frigate  of  sixty-four 
guns,  built  in  New  York,  arrived  in  December.^  In. 
March,  1827,  Lord  Cochrane  arrived  in  Greece — an  En- 
glish naval  officer  of  ability,  experience,  and  doubtful 
character,  from  whom  great  things  had  been  expected  in 
command  of  the  new  fleet  Soon  afterwards  the  Fourth 
National   Assembly   of    the    Greeks   met   at   Troezene. 

^  Two  loans,  one  of  ;^8oo,ooo,  the  other  of;^2,ooo,ooo,  making  together 
about  $14,000,000,  had  been  raised  in  London.  The  history  of  these  loans 
is  one  of  which  Greeks,  Englishmen,' and  Americans  have  all  and  equally 
reason  to  be  ashamed.  The  first  loan  was  negotiated  at  59  per  cent.,  the 
second  at  55^^  per  cent.  At  these  rates  they  should  have  yielded 
$8,000,000.  The  net  proceeds  were  in  fact  $6,600,000.  Of  this  sum, 
$2,000,000  were  sent  to  Greece ;  but  such  were  the  shameful  mismanage- 
ment and  rapacity  of  Greek  agents,  Greek  committees,  and  other  parties 
concerned  in  London  and  New  York,  that  for  the  remaining  $4,600,000, 
the  two  vessels  named  above,  worth  together  not  more  than  $500,000, 
were  nearly  all  that  the  Greeks  ever  received.  The  Hope  was  worth 
$300,000,  and  cost  the  Greeks  $750,000.  The  sum  of  $800,000  had  been 
appropriated  for  building  and  arming  six  steam  vessels,  of  which  one  only 
had  reached  Greece.  Of  the  balance  of  the  loans  no  satisfactory  account 
could  be  given. — Havjre,  pp.  371-9. 


MISERY  OF  THE  GREEKS,  253 

Cochrane  was  made  High  Admiral;  Sir  Richard  Chuich, 
an  English  gentleman  of  high  character  and  standing, 
who  had  commanded  a  Greek  force  under  the  British 
government  in  the  Ionian  Islands,  was  appointed  Gen- 
eral-in-chief ;  ^  and  Count  John  Capo  d'Istrias,  a  Greek 
of  Corfu,  who  had  long  served  with  distinction  in  the 
Russian  civil  and  diplomatic  ^  service,  was  chosen  Gover- 
nor of  Greece  for  the  term  of  seven  years. 

Meanwhile  Ibrahim  Pasha  was  lying  inactive  at  Mo- 
don,  and  all  eyes  were  turned  upon  Athens,  now  hard 
pressed  by  Kiutahi  Pasha,  on  which  seemed  to  depend 
the  last  hope  of  Greece.  Early  in  May,  Church  and 
Cochrane  made  a  vigorous  but  ill-directed  effort  to  break 
the  lines  of  the  Turks  and  raise  the  siege ;  they  were 
defeated  with  great  loss,  and  on  the  5  th  of  June  the 
Acropolis  surrendered  to  the  Turks. 

All  this  time  the  Greeks,  especially  in  the  Morea,  were 
sinking  ever  more  deeply  and  hopelessly  in  poverty  and 
distress,  and  the  stream  of  charity,  which  flowed  un- 
ceasingly from  Western  Europe,  was  almost  the  only 
support  of  their  sinking  cause.  '*  Switzerland  took  the 
lead ;  in  every  mountain  hamlet  the  peasantry  associated 
together  to  raise  funds  for  the  relief  of  the  Greeks ;  they 
had  regular  times  of  meeting,  they  eagerly  sought  the 
news  from  Greece,  they  rejoiced  in  her  successes,  they 
deplored  her  losses,  they  shut  their  eyes  upon,  or  kindly 
forgot  her  faults ;  and  they  set  aside  a  portion  of  their 

*  General  Church  was  still  living  in  1872,  and  although  more  than 
ninety  years  old,  was  still  Commander-in-chief  of  the  Greek  army.  See 
Tuckerman's  "The  Greeks  of  To-day,"  p.  55. 

*  He  had  been  Confidential  Minister  to  the  Emperor  Alexander.— 
Howe,  p.  441. 


154  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

earnings  to  contribute  to  the  general  fund.  ...  It 
was  a  rational,  systematic,  and  continued  effort,  and  it 
extended  throughout  Germany  and  France.  Committees 
were  formed  in  every  province,  who  remitted  the  funds 
collected  in  their  various  circles  to  the  general  com- 
mittees in  the  capitals;  and  these'  last,  having  agents 
of  high  respectabihty  in  Greece,  sent  to  them  the  cash, 
to  expend  as  they  might  find  most  necessar>'.  .  .  , 
The  result  of  all  this  was  that  the  agents  .  .  .  were 
enabled  to  afford  very  efficient  aid ;  and  most  of  the  late 
warHke  expeditions  undertaken  by  the  Greeks  were  sup- 
ported by  the  fund  of  the  European  charity."  ^  In  1827, 
the  cry  of  famishing  Greece  reached  our  own  country, 
and  seven  cargoes  of  food  and  clothing  were  collected 
and  dispatched  for  the  relief  of  "  the  suffering  non-com- 
batants " — the  old  men,  women,  and  children  of  Greece. 
"The  news  of  the  arrival  of  these  vessels  spread  with 
astonishing  rapidity  through  the  country ;  it  was  heard 
in  the  hiding  places  of  the  mountains,  and  their  inhabit- 
ants came  running  to  the  sea-shore  with  the  eagerness 
which  hunger  alone  could  have  given.  They  came  from 
many  leagues  in  the  interior ;  they  crowded  round  the 
vessels  of  our  country ;  and  these  crowds  presented  pic- 
tures of  human  woe  and  wretchedness  which  can  never 
be  exceeded.  .  .  .  Thousands  put  up  their  prayers 
to  God  for  their  benefactors^  and  their  children  learned 
first  to  lisp  the  name  of  America  with  a  blessing.  The 
news  of  the  distributions,  extending  all  over  the  country, 
produced  a  still  greater  effect  by  the  encouragement  it 
gave  to  the  people,  who  saw  that  they  were  considered 

1  Howe,  pp.  438-9. 


NAVARINO.  ass 

worthy  of  having  a  helping  hand  stretched  out  to  them 
from  across  the  globe."  ^ 

Through  the  months  of  summer  Ibrahim  Pasha  lay 
quietly  waiting  for  reinforcements  to  enable  him  to  finish 
his  work.  On  the  9th  of  September  the  Egyptian  fleet 
came  safely  to  anchor  in  the  harbor  of  Navarino,  and 
Ibrahim  prepared  at  once  to  consummate  the  ruin  of 
Greece.  But  here  a  heavy  and  terrible  hand  was  laid 
upon  him,  and  his  career  in  Greece  was  brought  to  a  sud- 
den and  disastrous  close.  On  the  20th  of  October,  1827, 
was  fought  that  tremendous  battle  in  the  harbor  of  Na- 
varino—  a  battle  brought  on  by  accident,  and  wholly 
contrary  to  the  intent  of  the  Western  Powers  —  by 
which  in  one  day  the  Turkish  and  Egyptian  naval  forces 
were  destroyed,  and  Greece  made  forever  free.  Let  us 
now  turn  back  to  trace  briefly  the  course  of  events  which 
led  to  this  strange  and  unexpected  catastrophe.^ 

The  Western  Powers,  in  particular  the  Emperor  Alex- 
ander of  Russia,  had  long  been  growing  restive  at  the 
fearful  disorders  which  prevailed  in  the  Turkish  seas,  and 
at  the  ever-increasing  injury  suflered  by  their  own  com- 
mercial interests ;  nor  were  they  at  all  inclined  to  see  an 
Egyptian  naval  power  established  in  Greece,  and  control- 
ling the  waters  of  the  Levant.  Their  ambassadors  at 
Constantinople  were  therefore  instructed  to  use  all  reason- 
able endeavors  to  bring  the  war  to  an  end.  These  move- 
ments, however,  were  feebly  pressed,  and  led  to  no  re- 
sult    The  Western  Powers  sympatliized   too   strongly 

*  Howe,  p.  440. 

*  Creasy's  History  of  the  c\\o Jian  Tkjfks,  vol.  ii.  pp.  414-20;  Howe,  ppu 
441-6;  Tennent,  pp.  xi/-^^ 


12 


356  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

with  the  Sultan  in  his  efforts  to  put  down  his  rebel- 
lious  subjects ;  they  were  too  thoroughly  committed  to 
the  support  of  despotic  power  at  home  and  abroad, 
to  put  forth  any  effectual  interference  in  behalf  of  the 
Greeks. 

But  with  the  accession  of  the  Emperor  Nicholas, 
December  24th,  1825,  the  Russian  poHcy  was  wholly 
changed.  Nicholas  was  a  man  of  strong  Russian  feeling ; 
opposed  to  the  Turks,  and  inclined  to  favor  the  Greeks. 
By  this  time  also  the  pressure  of  public  opinion  had 
brought  the  Enghsh  government  to  a  similar  attitude  in 
respect  to  the  affairs  of  Greece.  Accordingly,  when  in 
1826  the  Duke  of  Wellington  was  sent  to  St.  Petersburg 
to  congratulate  the  new  Emperor  on  his  accession  to  the 
throne,  he  was  directed  to  propose  to  the  Russian  Court 
that  some  united  and  effectual  measures  should  be  adopt- 
ed for  the  pacification  of  Greece.  The  result  of  this 
movement  was  the  signing  of  a  protocol  by  the  ministers 
of  England  and  Russia  on  the  4th  of  April,  1827.  Aus- 
tria and  Prussia  declined  all  interference,  but  France 
coming  heartily  into  the  movement,  on  the  6th  of  July, 
1827,  these  three  Powers  signed  a  treaty  pledging  them- 
selves to  an  immediate  and  effective  interference  for  the 
purpose  of  ending  the  war  in  Greece. 

By  the  terms  of  this  treaty  an  immediate  armistice  was 
to  be  required  of  the  contending  parties.  The  three  con- 
tracting Powers  were  then  to  propose  their  mediation 
between  the  Turks  and  the  Greeks  on  the  following 
basis,  viz. :  that  Greece  should  be  constituted  a  semi-in- 
dependent Principahty,  governing  itself,  choosing  its  own 
rulers,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  Divan,  and  paying 


THE  ADMIRALS  AT NA VARINO.  %%1 

a  definite  tribute  to  the  Turkish  government  It  was 
further  agreed  that  if  either  of  the  belligerents  should 
refuse  to  accede  to  these  terms,  the  contracting  Powers 
would  take  all  proper  steps,  without  taking  part  in  the 
war  on  either  side,  to  prevent  further  hostilities. 

By  the  Greeks  the  proposed  interference  was  joyfully 
accepted  ;  by  the  Turks  it  was  scornfully  rejected.  The 
naval  forces  of  the  three  Powers  in  the  Levant  were 
therefore  united  and  augmented,  and  Sir  Edward  Cod- 
rington,  the  English  Admiral,  was  directed  to  see  to  it 
that  no  further  reinforcements  from  Turkey  or  from  Egypt 
should  be  landed  in  Greece.  But  before  Codrington 
was  ready  to  act,  the  9th  of  September  had  already  passed, 
and  the  Egyptian  fleet  was  safely  anchored  in  the  harbor 
of  Navarino.  The  Admirals  were  then  directed  to  pre- 
vent the  saiUng  of  any  part  of  the  Turco-Egyptian  force 
from  Navarino  to  any  other  port,  until  the  pending  ques- 
tions were  decided. 

On  the  25th  of  September,  an  armistice  was  conclu- 
ded with  Ibrahim  Pasha  by  which  he  engaged  to  comply 
with  these  terms  until  the  arrival  of  further  instructions 
from  his  father,  or  from  the  Porte.  Hardly,  however, 
had  the  Pasha  signed  this  engagement  before  he  broke  it, 
and  sailed  with  a  powerful  armament  for  Patras.  In  this 
movement  he  was  sternly  met  by  the  Admirals,  and  com- 
pelled to  return  to  Navarino.  Enraged  at  this  repulse, 
Ibrahim  let  loose  his  land  forces,  and  recommenced  hie 
ravages  and  butcheries  in  the  Morea.  The  Admirals 
justly  felt  that  these  atrocities  could  not  be  tolerated,  and 
they  determined  to  propose  to  Ibrahim,  as  the  only 
means  of  ending  the  war,  that  he  should  retire  with  his 


25b  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

forces  from  Greece.  On  the  19th  day  of  October  a  note 
to  this  effect  was  sent  to  him,  but  was  returned  unopened 
with  the  statement  of  the  dragoman  that  the  Pasha  was 
not  to  be  found.  The  Admirals  then  determined  to  sail 
directly  into  the  harbor  of  Navarino,  and  by  a  display  of 
open  force  to  insure  acquiescence  with  their  demands. 

On  the  20th  of  October,  1827,  this  purpose  was  car- 
ried into  execution,  and  the  allied  fleet,  led  by  Sir  Ed- 
ward Codrington,  and  consisting  of  twenty-nine  vessels — 
ten  ships  of  the  line,  ten  frigates,  four  brigs,  and  five 
schooners — entered  the  harbor.  The  Turco- Egyptian 
fleet  consisted  of  about  seventy  vessels  of  war,  forty  trans- 
ports, and  four  fire-ships ;  the  whole  lying  under  cover  of 
the  batteries  of  the  town.  The  result  of  this  movement 
may  best  be  told  in  the  words  of  Dr.  Howe  : 

**  On  the  entrance  of  the  European  fleet,  the  Turks  ev- 
idently supposed  they  had  come  to  engage  them,  and 
prepared  for  battle  in  their  confused  way,  without  other 
order  than  the  example  of  the  Capitan  Bey ;  the  Egyp- 
tian admiral,  Moharem  Bey,  in  fact  declaring  that  he 
would  not  fight.  But  before  all  the  European  vessels  had 
come  to  anchor,  a  boat,  sent  by  one  of  them  to  a  Turkish 
fire-ship  requesting  her  to  move,  was  fired  upon,  and 
some  of  her  men  killed.  This  was  answered  by  a  return 
fire  of  musketry.  An  Egyptian  corvette  then  impru- 
dently fired  a  cannon  shot  into  the  Dartmouth,  which  of 
course  brought  on  a  return  fire ;  and  the  Turks  madly 
answering  it  from  several  vessels,  part  of  the  line  began 
an  action.  Meantime  Admiral  Codrington  in  the  Asia, 
desirous  of  preventing  a  general  action,  fired  only  upon 
the  ships  of  the  line  of  the  Constantinople  admiral,  who 


SA  TTLE  OF  NA  VARINO.  SS9 

had  fired  first.  The  Egyptian  admiral  lying  upon  his 
other  bow,  was  not  molested,  until  Codrington,  sending 
his  pilot  (a  Greek)  to  the  Egyptian  admiral,  to  signify 
his  intention  of  not  fighting  if  he  could  avoid  it,  the 
boat  was  fired  upon,  the  pilot  and  some  men  were  killed, 
and  the  Egyptian  fired  upon  the  Asia. 

"  Then  Codrington,  opening  his  tremendous  broadside 
upon  the  Egyptians  on  one  side,  and  the  Turks  on  the 
other,  poured  forth  such  a  terrible  fire  as  in  a  few  mo- 
ments reduced  them  both  to  mere  wrecks,  and  they 
swung,  utterly  destroyed,  to  leeward,  thus  uncovering  the 
second  Turkish  line  of  vessels,  which  lay  behind  them, 
and  which  opened  their  whole  fire  upon  Codrington. 

"  The  action  now  became  general ;  the  vessels  of  each 
nation  striving  to  outdo  the  other,  the  Turks  firing  with 
the  blind  fury  of  desperation.  They  were  more  than 
double  in  number,  and,  warmly  seconded  by  the  whole 
line  of  land  batteries,  poured  forth  such  a  tremendous 
volley  of  shot,  as,  well  directed,  must  have  utterly  de- . 
stroyed  the  Europeans  in  a  few  minutes.  But  the  latter 
sent  back  as  rapidly  a  smaller  but  much  more  dreadful 
fire;  for  every  gun  was  well  pointed,  every  shot  told, 
and  in  a  few  minutes  it  was  seen  which  way  the  scale 
would  turn. 

''Burning  with  generous  emulation,  each  European 
commander  strove  to  distinguish  himself;  boats  were 
sent  out,  and  the  men,  boarding  the  Turkish  brulots 
(fire-ships),  cut  them  away,  set  them  on  fire,  and  let  them 
drive  in  among  their  fleet  In  a  few  minutes  the  scene 
became  more  terrible  by  the  flames  which  began  to  rise 
from  several  vessels  and  their  successive   blowing  up.' 


a6o  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

The  two  long  lines  of  ships,  from  which  roared  two 
thousand  cannon ;  the  blazing  fire-ships  driving  to  and 
fro  among  the  huge  Turkish  vessels,  whose  falling  masts, 
shattered  hulls,  and  gory  decks  began  to  show  how  the 
battle  went ;  the  sea  covered  with  spars  and  half-burned 
masses  of  wood,  to  which  clung  thousands  of  Turks  es- 
caped from  their  exploded  vessels;  the  line  of  batteries 
on  shore,  which  blazed  away  all  the  time,  and  which,  as 
well  as  the  battlements  of  the  town,  were  covered  with 
the  anxious  soldiers  of  Ibrahim ;  the  noise,  the  explo- 
sions, the  flames,  the  smoke,  the  hurrahs  of  the  Euro- 
pean sailors,  the  curses  and  the  Allah  shouts  of  the 
Turks,  presented  one  of  the  most  impressive  scenes  ever 
witnessed. 

"  The  battle  raged  from  three  o'clock  P.  M.  until  seven. 
.  .  .  The  Turkish  fleet  was  almost  utterly  destroyed. 
Many  ships  had  been  blown  up,  sunk,  or  burned ;  the 
rest  were  pierced  through  and  through,  shattered,  dis- 
masted, or  driven  on  shore.  Not  more  than  fifteen  ves- 
sels had  escaped  undamaged,  and  more  than  five  thousand 
Turks  had  been  killed.  The  rest  were  overwhelmed  with 
confusion  and  rage,  but  not  with  fear ;  and  they  contin- 
ued during  the  night  madly  to  set  fire  to  and  blow  up 
their  vessels  which  were  on  shore  or  disabled,  regardless 
of  the  word  sent  by  Codrington  that  he  had  finished. 

**  Thus  an  action  commenced  by  accident  ended  in  the 
almost  complete  destruction  of  the  naval  power  of  Turkey. 
The  news  reached  the  cabinets  of  Europe,  exciting  sur- 
prise and  regret.  It  reached  the  Sultan,  stunning  and 
overwhelming  him ;  but  his  first  impulse  to  deluge  his 
Empire  in  the  blood  of  infidels  was  checked  by  a  feeling 


GREECE  FREE.  961 

of  impotency.  The  day  had  gone  by  when  Turkey  could 
oppose  a  single  European  power,  much  less  the  greatest 
united.  But  to  Greece,  to  poor  Greece,  the  news  was 
the  reprieve  of  her  death-warrant.  Joy  and  exultation 
were  in  every  heart,  rejoicing  was  on  every  tongue,  hope 
beamed  on  every  countenance  ;  and  from  Arta  to  Ther- 
mopylae, from  Pindus  to  Taygetus,  Hellas  felt  that  her 
chains  were  broken ;  she  was  freed  forever  from  the  yoke 
of  Mussulman  bondage."  ^ 

The  war  was  ended ;  its  purpose  had  been  securely 
achieved.  In  January,  1828,  Capo  dTstrias  arrived  in 
Greece,  and  was  at  once  invested  with  the  presidency ; 
the  last  Moslem  enemy  left  the  Morea  on  the  7th  of 
October,  and  twelve  months  later  the  independence  of 
Greece  was  virtually  acknowledged  by  the  Porte.* 

^  Greek  Revolution,  pp.  443-5. 

'  Tennent,  p.  123.  Attica,  Eubcea,  and  Lamia  were  not  evacuated  by 
the  Turks  until  i8j^ 


CHAPTER   IX. 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  GREECE.* 

PRESIDENCY  OF  CAPO  D'ISTRIAS  —  REIGN  OF  OTHO 
OF  BAVARIA — ACCESSION  OF  PRINCE  WILLIAM 
GEORGE   OF   DENMARK. 

The  assumption  of  the  reins  of  government  by  Capo 
d'Istrias  brought  immediate  rehef  to  the  country.  The 
people  returned  to  their  homes  and  began  once  more  to 
till  their  deserted  fields,  and  very  soon  something  of 
comfort  and  prosperity  was  apparent  on  every  hand. 
The  public  affairs  of  the  new  state,  however,  were  still 
unsettled.  Its  boundaries  had  not  been  fixed,  nor  had 
the  great  Powers  as  yet  come  to  a  final  decision  as  to 
what  character  it  should  bear.  At  length,  in  February, 
1830,  it  was  determined  that  Greece  should  be  wholly 
free,  and  that  it  should  be  governed  by  a  King,  to  be 

^  Lectures  on  Greece,  Ancient  and  Modern,  by  C.  C.  Felton,  LI^.D., 
late  President  of  Harvard  University. 

Senior's  Journal  in  Turkey  and  Greece  in  1857-8. 

Modern  Greece,  by  Henry  M.  Baird,  M.A.,  New  York,  1856. 

The  Greeks  of  To-Day,  by  Charles  K.  Tuckerman,  late  Minister  Resi- 
dent of  the  United  States  at  Athens,  New  York,  1873. 

Articles  on  Modern  Greece — Westminister  Review,  April,  1834 ;  North 
British  Review,  February,  1863;  Edinburgh  Review,  April,  1863  j  Lon 
don  Quarterly  Review,  April  and  July,  1869. 


LEOPOLD  ABDICATES.  ^ 

chosen  from  one  of  the  reigning  families  of  Western 
Europe.  The  throne  was  offered  to,  and  accepted  by, 
Prince  Leopold,  the  husband  of  the  Princess  Charlotte  of 
England,  the  same  Prince  who  afterwards  reigned  for 
many  years  so  wisely  and  successfully  as  King  of  Bel- 
gium.* 

Happy  would  it  have  been  for  Greece  if  Leopold  could 
have  filled  her  throne ;  if  her  government,  during  those 
first  critical  years,  could  have  been  directed  by  his  wise 
counsels,  his  steady  and  vigorous  hand.  But  this  was  not 
to  be.  As  if  to  make  some  amends  to  the  Sultan  for  the 
loss  of  his  territory,  the  Allies  determined  that  the  new 
Kingdom  should  be  left  very  small,  with  a  northern  bound- 
ary running  from  the  mouth  of  the  river  Aspropotamos, 
or  Achelous,  north-easterly  to  the  mouth  of  the  Sper- 
chius,  leaving  Acarnania,  ^Etolia,  and  Thessaly,  with  the 
great  Islands  of  Samos  and  Candia,  still  in  the  hands  of 
the  Turks.  Neither  Kingdom  nor  King  could  accept 
this  strange  arrangement.  The  districts  of  Northern 
Greece,  which  were  now  free  from  Turkish  rule,  and 
which  according  to  this  plan  were  to  be  forced  back  again 
into  slavery,  had  furnished  more  than  half  the  armies  of 
the  Revolution,  and  many  of  its  ablest  leaders.  Leopold 
informed  the  Allies  that  he  could  not  undertake  the  gov- 
ernment of  Greece  on  such  terms,  and  on  the  22nd  of 
May,  1830,  he  abdicated  the  throne.^ 

Very  soon  after  Leopold's  resignation,  and  before  any 
further  steps  had  been  taken  in  the  matter,  Charles  X. 
was  driven  from  the  throne  of  France,  and  the  Allies, 
fully  occupied  with  affairs  nearer  home,  left  Capo  dTs- 

>  Felton,  ii.  458.  *  Felton,  ii.  460. 


t64  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

trias  to  get  on  as  he  could  with  the  government  of  Greece. 
Capo  d'Istrias  was  able,  energetic,  and  honest ;  and  at  first 
his  administration  promised  to  prove  a  brilliant  success. 
But  his  prospects  were  soon  overcast.  Great  difficulties 
beset  his  way,  difficulties  which  in  some  respects  he  was 
poorly  fitted  to  meet.  The  country  was  steeped  in  pov- 
erty, the  old  revolutionary  leaders  were  turbulent  and 
refi-actory,  disorder  and  misrule  filled  the  country.  Capo 
d'Istrias  felt,  and  felt  justly,  that  order  and  law  must  be 
established  at  whatever  cost.  But  he  had  been  trained 
in  a  Russian  political  school;  all  his  sympathies  and 
leanings  were  towards  Russia;  he  had  no  sympathy 
with  the  extravagant  notions  of  freedom  which  filled  the 
breasts  of  his  countrymen.  As  difficulties  thickened 
about  him,  he  was  the  more  inclined  to  act  under  Rus- 
sian influence,  and  to  depend  on  Russian  support,  until 
finally  he  began  to  arrest  and  imprison  the  most  promi- 
nent members  of  the  government  who  opposed  his  meas- 
ures, in  entire  disregard  of  the  constitution  and  of  all 
personal  right. 

By  this  high-handed  course  almost  all  the  old  revolu- 
tionary statesmen  were  estranged  from  the  President,  and 
compelled  to  unite  against  him.  Mavrocordato,  Miaulis, 
and  Conduriotti  waited  upon  him  as  a  committee  of  the 
opposition,  to  inform  him  that  they  would  submit  to  his 
usurpations  no  longer,  even  though  they  should  be  forced 
to  the  extremity  of  civil  war.  Capo  d'Istrias  would  not 
yield,  and  the  committee  returned  to  Hydra  to  prepare 
for  armed  resistance.  The  President  took  measures  to 
suppress  the  movement ;  and  to  prevent  the  fleet  from 
passing  into  his  hands,  Miaulis  set  fire  to  the  Hellas — the 


PRESIDENCY  OF  CAPO  HISTRIAS,  365 

American-built  frigate  which  had  cost  the  nation  so  dear, 
and  which  then  lay  at  Pores — and  that,  with  twenty - 
eight  other  vessels,  was  consumed. 

Soon  after  this  the  career  of  Capo  d'Istrias  was  brought 
to  a  sudden  and  tragic  end.  Among  those  whom  he  had 
imprisoned  was  Petro  Mavromichalis,  the  old  Bey  of 
Maina,  perhaps  the  most  influential  man  in  the  Morea, 
and  then  in  charge  of  the  department  of  war.  Maina, 
the  rocky  promontory  lying  between  the  Messenian  and 
Laconian  gulfs,  was  the  Suli  of  the  Morea.  Its  fierce 
and  warlike  clans  had  long  maintained  a  complete  inde- 
pendence of  the  Turks,  and  had  never  been  thoroughly 
subdued.  Before  the  Revolution  they  had  been  subject 
to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Capitan  Pasha,  and  had  been 
governed  by  Beys  chosen  by  themselves  from  their  own 
leading  families. 

Nowhere  in  the  world  was  there  a  more  high-spirited 
race  of  mountaineers ;  nowhere  else  was  there  a  tribe  of 
which  the  clansmen  would  feel  more  imperatively  bound 
to  revenge  a  wrong  done  to  their  chief  The  brother 
and  son  of  Petro,  Constantine  and  George  Mavromichalis, 
went  to  Nauplia  to  intercede  in  his  behalf,  but  were  them- 
selves arrested  and  committed  to  the  charge  of  the  police. 
The  Russian  admiral  sailed  to  Nauplia  for  the  same  pur- 
pose, but  found  the  President  immovable.  When,  on  the 
6th  of  October,  1831,  these  facts  were  made  known  to 
the  old  Bey,  he  bared  his  head,  raised  his  hand  to  heaven, 
and  vowed  vengeance  upon  this  tyrant  of  Greece  and 
persecutor  of  himself  and  his  family.  Three  days  later 
Capo  d'Istrias  was  shot  by  Constantine  and  George 
Mavromichalis  at  the  door  of  a  church  as  he  was  enter- 

12 


a66  THE  MODERN  CREEKS. 

ing  to  attend  the  morning  serviced  Constantine  was  in- 
stantly torn  in  pieces  by  the  populace,  George  was 
brought  to  trial,  convicted,  and  condemned  to  be  shot. 

After  the  death  of  the  President,  his  brother,  Augustine 
Capo  d'Istrias,  was  hastily  placed  at  the  head  of  the  gov- 
ernment. He  attempted  to  carry  out  his  brother's  policy, 
and  summoned  a  congress  to  meet  at  Argos,  from  which 
the  delegates  of  Northern  Greece  and  the  islands  were 
excluded.  He  soon  found,  however,  that  he  could  do 
nothing,  and  disappeared  from  the  scene.  In  April, 
1832,  the  excluded  delegates  entered  Argos  in  triumph, 
and  on  the  15  th  of  the  same  month  Augustine  Capo 
d'Istrias  .sailed  with  the  body  of  his  brother  for  Corfu. 

In  August,  1830,  the  Greek  senate  had  petitioned  the 
great  Powers  to  name  another  sovereign  for  them  in  the 
place  of  Prince  Leopold.  This  request  was  at  length 
complied  with,  and  on  the  7th  of  May,  1832,  Otho,  the 
second  son  of  Louis,  King  of  Bavaria,  then  seventeen 
years  of  age,  was  designated  for  the  vacant  throne.  For 
this  choice  there  were  some  excellent  reasons.  King 
Louis  was  an  old  and  true  friend  to  the  Greeks.  He  had 
helped  them  with  money  and  with  men  in  their  revolu- 
tionary struggle,  and  was  still  an  enthusiast  in  their  cause. 
The  terms  which  he  obtained  for  his  son  were  far  more 
favorable  than  those  before  insisted  on.  The  kingdom 
was  to  retain  Acarnania  and  ^Etolia,  the  northern  boun- 
dary running  directly  east  from  the  north-east  corner  of 
the  Gulf  of  Arta  to  the  south-west  corner  of  the  Gulf  of 
Volo.  A  loan  of  sixty  millions  of  francs  was  secured,  the 
interest  to  be  guaranteed  by  the  Allies,  and  an  army  of 

*  Felton,  ii.  465. 


REIGN  OF  OTHO.  26y 

thirty- five  hundred  men  was  to  be  raised,  for  the  support 

of  the  government  and  the  preservation  of  order. 

These  terms  were  acceptable  to  the  country,  and  on 
the  8th  of  August,  1832,  amid  great  and  universal  re- 
joicing, Otho  was  acknowledged  King  of  Greece.  As  a 
regency,  to  conduct  the  government  during  the  three 
years  of  Otho's  minority.  King  Louis  determined  to  send 
with  his  son  three  of  his  ablest  men,  Count  Armansperg, 
Von  Maurer,  and  Heideck.  On  the  6th  of  February, 
1833,  the  king  and  his  regency  landed  at  Nauplia,  and 
at  once  assumed  the  government^  The  reign  thus 
commenced  continued  for  thirty  years,  until,  in  Octo- 
ber, 1862,  by  the  impending  bankruptcy  of  his  govern- 
ment, the  deep  discontent  of  his  people,  and  the  general 
dissatisfaction  of  Europe,  Otho  was  driven  from  his 
throne. 

Over  this  long  and  feeble  reign  we  need  pause  only  to 
notice  a  few  of  its  leading  events,  and  to  inquire  briefly 
respecting  its  general  character  and  results. 

In  the  beginning  of  1835,  the  seat  of  government  was 
transferred  from  Nauplia  to  Athens — a  city  at  the  present 
time  of  forty- eight  thousand  inhabitants,  but  which  in 
1832  had  contained  scarcely  half  a  dozen  inhabited 
houses.*  On  the  ist  of  June,  1835,  Otho  came  of  age, 
dismissed  his  regency,  and  took  the  reins  of  government 
into  his  own  hands  ;  and  on  the  22d  of  November,  1836, 
he  was  married  to  the  Princess  Amelia,  daughter  of  the 
Grand  Duke  of  Oldenburg,  a  lady  of  many  virtues,  an 
ardent  friend  to  the  Greeks,  and  who  was  pronounced  by 

*  Felton,  ii.  471. 

■  Senior's  Journal,  p.  231 ;  Tuckerman,  p.  44. 


268  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

President  Felton  in  1852,  the  most  beautiful  and  most 
fascinating  of  European  Queens.* 

In  the  treaty  whicn  placed  Otho  upon  the  throne  of 
Greece,  not  one  word  was  said  of  a  constitution,  or  of 
any  guarantee  for  the  rights  of  the  people.  For  eleven 
years  no  constitution  was  adopted,  no  National  Assembly 
was  convened ;  the  King  conducted  the  government  upon 
his  own  sole  authority.  But  the  time  came  at  length 
when  the  people  would  not  longer  endure  this  arbitrary 
rule  of  the  King,  and  the  draining  of  the  resources  of 
the  kingdom  by  a  host  of  Bavarian  favorites  and  officials 
The  cry  for  a  constitution  was  becoming  loud  and  threat- 
ening, and  the  government  was  endeavoring  by  vigorous 
measures  to  suppress  the  movement,  when  suddenly,  on 
the  night  of  the  14th  of  September,  1843,  the  King 
found  his  palace  surrounded  by  the  garrison  and  popu- 
lace of  Athens,  and  heard  from  General  Kalergi,  the 
quiet  but  determined  declaration,  that  they  were  there  to 
demand  a  constitution,  and  that  not  until  a  National 
Assembly  had  been  called  would  they  leave  the  ground. 
The  King  held  out  long,  but  seeing  at  last  the  hopelessness 
of  his  position,  yielded  with  a  good  grace  and  in  good 
faith.  A  proclamation  was  issued  convening  the  National 
Assembly  for  the  purpose  of  framing  a  constitution,  and 
the  troops,  after  having  been  under  arms  for  thirteen 
hours,  retired  to  their  quarters.  Never  was  revolution 
more  quietly  conducted.  Not  a  drop  of  blood  was  shed, 
there  were  no  signs  of  riot  or  lawless  violence,  the  courts 
held  their  sessions  as  usual,  the  business  of  the  city  was 
not  interrupted  for  an  hour.     The  next  day  the  King  and 

*  Greece,  Ancient  and  Modern,  ii.  174. 


REIGN  OF  OTHO.  ^69 

Queen  rode  out  as  usual,  and  found  themselves  more 
popular  than  ever.^ 

By  the  Assembly  thus  convened,  which  commenced 
its  sittings  on  the  20th  of  November,  1843,  an  excellent 
constitution  was  adopted,  and  from  that  time  to  the  pre- 
sent, Greece  has  been  a  constitutional  kingdom.  In  its 
hopes  from  this  change,  however,  the  nation  was  doomed 
to  disappointment.  The  government  was  not  improved, 
and  the  evils  under  which  the  nation  groaned  were  rather 
increased  than  diminished.  The  elections  were  quietly 
managed  by  the  ministry;  the  government  candidates 
were  almost  always  returned;  the  legislature  proved 
itself  a  servile  instrument  of  the  court,  and  the  King  was 
more  absolute,  because  less  unpopular,  than  before.^ 

As  a  man,  President  Felton  gives  King  Otho  a  very 
high  character :  "  In  the  first  place,  his  private  life  is 
without  a  stain.  He  has  a  strong  sense  of  religious  obli- 
gation. No  vice,  no  dissipation,  no  profligacy,  has  ever 
dishonored  his  youth,  or  been  allowed  to  enter  his  court. 
In  this  respect  he  sets  an  example  to  his  subjects  which 
could  not  be  improved.  In  the  next  place,  he  is  an  in- 
telligent and  accomplished  prince.  I  do  not  mean  that 
he  is  a  man  of  brilliant  talents,  or  of  great  sagacity.  I 
do  not  think  he  is ;  but  he  is  a  man  of  considerable 
knowledge,  speaking  four  languages  fluently,  of  great 
industry,  and  attentive  personally,  in  no  common  degree, 
to  the  public  business.  I  will  add  to  this,  that  I  believe 
him  to  be  a  conscienti6us  man,  and  devoted  heart  and 

'  Felton,  ii,  482-4. 

*  Senior's  Journal,  pp.  247,  250-5,  271 ;  Felton,  ii.  488 ;  Ed.  Review 
for  April,  1863,  p.  299. 


»70  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

soul  to  the  country  over  which  he  is  called  to  rule.  He 
is  charitable  to  the  poor,  who  are  never  turned  from  the 
palace-doors  by  the  sentinels  stationed  there.  I  never 
entered  the  palace  without  seeing  twenty  or  thirty  poor 
women,  or  disabled  men,  waiting  in  the  great  corridor 
until  the  King  could  attend  to  their  petitions,  or  the 
King's  physician  could  prescribe  for  their  complaints; 
and  I  was  told  by  one  in  the  confidence  of  his  Majesty, 
that  these  poor  people  are  never  allowed  to  go  away 
without  words  of  kindness,  and  that  no  small  part  of  the 
King's  revenue  is  expended  for  their  reHef "  ^ 

But  unfortunately,  a  good  man  does  not  always  make 
a  good  king.  King  Otho  was,  in  some  respects,  poorly 
fitted  for  the  position  in  which  fortune  had  placed  him, 
and,  with  all  his  virtues,  his  reign  was  not  successful. 
He  lacked  vigor  of  mind,  breadth  of  view,  and  the  power 
to  adapt  himself  to  circumstances.  He  was  a  Bavarian 
through  and  through.  His  only  idea  of  government  had 
been  borrowed  from  the  "  paternal "  rule  of  his  father's 
kingdom,  and  by  such  a  system  he  attempted  to  govern 
restless,  democratic  Greece.  If  to  his  many  -irtues  he 
had  added  a  resolute  will,  and  great  energy  of  character, 
a  government  like  this  might,  under  the  circumstances, 
have  been  the  best  that  the  kingdom  could  have  had. 
But,  unfortunately,  these  were  just  the  qualities  in  which 
the  King  was  lacking.  His  government  was  weak  and 
slipshod  throughout.  The  communes  were  not  allowed  to 
arm  for  their  own  defence,  the  government  did  not  pro- 
tect them,  and  the  whole  kingdom,  north  of  the  Gulf  and 
Isthmus  of  Corinth,  became  the  constant  prey  of  brigands.* 
*  Greece,  Ancient  and  Modern,  ii.  514  15.  *  Senior,  322. 


REIGN  OF  OTHO.  271 

The  miserable,  half-disciplined  army  was  filled  by  a 
conscription  which  seemed  to  the  people  so  unequal  and 
unjust  that  young  men  were  constantly  flying  to  the 
mountains  and  turning  robbers  to  escape  the  service.^ 
The  wretched  fiscal  system  of  the  old  Turkish  regime 
was  retained;  the  immense  national  domain,  consisting 
of  the  lands  which  had  been  owned  by  Turks,  was  kept 
in  the  hands  of  the  government,  and  only  leased  to  the 
occupants  for  a  heavy  rent  in  kind ;  all  taxes  and  rents 
were  farmed  and  collected  in  kind ;  and  such  were  the 
burdens,  under  the  tyranny  of  the  tax-gatherer,  by  which 
the  agriculture  of  the  kingdom  was  crushed,  that  the 
rural  population  of  independent  Greece  remained  through 
the  whole  reign  of  Otho  less  prosperous,  and  worse  off 
pecuniarily,  than  their  brethren  still  under  the  rule  of  the 
Sultan  in  many  districts  of  Thessaly  and  Macedonia.^ 
The  resources  of  the  kingdom  were  drained  by  an  army 
of  self-seeking  officials.  "The  whole  government  was 
one  enormous  job."  ^ 

But  faulty  and  inefficient  as  the  government  of  King 
Otho  proved,  the  progress  of  the  kingdom  during  the 
thirty  years  of  his  reign  was  very  great.  The  Bavarian 
regents,  who  governed  the  kingdom  during  Otho's  mi- 
nority, gave  themselves  to  their  work  with  earnest  dili- 
gence, and  soon  brought  order  out  of  confusion.  The 
kingdom  was  divided  into  ten  Nomoi  or  provinces,  thirty 
Eparchies  or  cantons,  and  these  into  four  hundred  and 

»  Senior,  313-14. 

*  Urquhart,  2-6 ;  Leake's  "  Greece  After  Twenty-three  Years  of  Pro- 
tection," p.  17, 

'  Senior  p.  313-14. 


272  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

fifty-three  Demoi  or  communes,  presided  over  by  No- 
marchs,  Eparchs,  and  Demarchs.  The  army  and  navy 
were  reorganized ;  an  excellent  judicial  system  was 
established,  with  courts  on  the  French  plan ;  and,  most 
important  of  all,  the  foundation  was  laid  of  that  vast  and 
excellent  system  of  public  schools,  which,  long  before  the 
close  of  Otho's  reign,  had  begun  to  command  the  admi- 
ration of  the  world.  The  population  of  the  kingdom  rose 
from  seven  hundred  thousand  to  eleven  hundred  thou- 
sand ;  its  commerce  revived,  and  the  Greek  merchants 
again  controlled  the  trade  of  the  Levant.^ 

Half  the  soil  of  the  kingdom  lay  untilled,  and  the 
rural  population,  having  no  encouragement  to  do  more 
than  provide  themselves  with  the  barest  necessaries  of  life, 
were  miserably  poor.  Yet,  after  their  fashion,  they  lived 
in  comfort;  pauperism  and  beggary  were  almost  un- 
known ;  they  were  quiet,  cheerful,  contented,  and  loyal.* 
The  picture  drawn  by  President  Felton  of  the  life  of  the 
Greek  peasantry  in  1852,  is  as  interesting  as  it  is  import- 
ant, and  may  well  be  copied  here : — 

''  The  Greek  peasant,  according  to  my  experience,  is 
simple-hearted,  almost  childlike,  and  hospitable  after  the 
manner  of  the  heroic  ages.  He  is  intelligent,  docile, 
grateful  for  kindness,  unselfish,  except  where  he  has  been 
exposed  to  the  corrupting  influence  of  foreign  travelers. 
.  .  .  In  a  journey  of  twenty-one  days  through  the  in- 
terior, two  attempts  only  were  made  to  cheat  us.  .  .  . 
The  mass  of  the  population  are  living  in  a  state  of  poverty 

*  Baird,  p.  16. 

*  See  the  testimony  of  King  Otho  on  this  point,  as  expressed  to  Mr. 
Senior. — Senior's  Journal,  p.  350. 


REIGN  OF  OTHO,  273 

quite  beyond  any  conception  of  poverty  we  can  form 
in  this  country.  The  most  ordinary  arrangements,  not 
only  for  comfort,  but  for  health  and  decency,  are  generally 
wanting,  except  in  a  few  of  the  largest  towns.  You  see 
no  tables,  chairs,  beds,  or  glass  windows,  in  the  northern 
provinces,  though  in  the  Peloponnesus  the  state  of  things 
in  these  respects  is  somewhat  better.  The  arts  of  un- 
dressing and  going  to  bed,  of  washing  one's  hands  and 
face,  of  occasionally  changing  one's  linen,  of  conducting 
smoke  through  chimneys,  of  eating  with  knives  and  forks, 
are  quite  unknown.  .  .  .  But  notwithstanding  this 
apparent  wretchedness,  there  are  scarcely  any  beggars  in 
the  country.  Every  man  has  his  flock,  or  his  olive- 
grove,  or  his  little  farm,  or  hires  land  of  the  government, 
and  labors  enough  to  supply  his  simple  wants.  In  the 
meanest  huts,  when  you  can  find  nothing  else,  you  will 
probably  find  school-books. 

'*  In  crossing  a  spur  of  Mount  Helicon,  I  was  overtaken 
by  one  of  those  tremendous  rains,  which  seem  in  a  mo- 
ment to  bring  back  Deucalion's  Deluge.  I  was  obliged  to 
take  shelter  in  a  hut  picturesquely  placed  on  the  top  of 
the  mountain,  and  to  pass  the  night  there.  .  .  .  The 
house  consisted  of  one  room,  the  lower  end  of  which  was 
occupied  by  the  domestic  animals,  to  which  our  horses 
were  now  added.  The  floor  was  of  hardened  earth 
mixed  with  straw.  Towards  the  upper  end  there  was  a 
raised  circle,  on  which  the  fire  was  burning ;  but  as  there 
was  no  chimney,  the  smoke  floated  about  in  graceful 
curls  among  the  timbers  of  the  roof,  the  cracks  in  which 
served  the  purpose  of  not  letting  out  the  smoke,  and  of 
letting  in  the  rain.     The  family  were  the  father,  mother, 

12* 


274  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

four  children,  and  a  maiden  aunt,  who,  like  maiden  aunts 
all  over  the  world,  was  making  herself  useful  in  a  variety 
of  ways — rocking  the  baby,  which,  according  to  the  fash- 
ion in  Greece,  was  swathed  like  an  infant  mummy ;  spin- 
ning too,  not  with  a  wheel,  but  in  Homeric  style,  sitting 
upon  her  heels,  and  whirling  a  spindle  on  the  ground. 
They  had  no  beds,  and  therefore  required  no  bedrooms ; 
they  had  no  chairs,  and  therefore  sat  on  the  floor ;  they 
had  no  knives  and  forks,  and  therefore  ate  with  their 
fingers.  In  searching  for  suppUes,  a  disconsolate  old 
hen  was  found  on  the  premises;  and  when  the  good 
mother  returned  from  washing  clothes,  like  Nausicaa,  in 
a  neighboring  stream,  she  tipped  the  baby  out  of  the 
cradle — leaving  him  to  roll  helplessly  on  the  floor — poured 
in  it  a  quantity  of  Indian  meal,  and  kneaded  a  mighty 
loaf,  which  she  baked  under  the  ashes.  Perhaps  some 
of  my  over-fastidious  hearers  think  they  would  have  hesi- 
tated to  partake  of  a  loaf  whose  antecedents  were  such  as 
I  have  described.  But,  I  can  assure  them,  that  loaf 
of  bread,  and  that  old  hen  boiled  in  an  earthen  pot  by 
the  Hght  of  a  blazing  pine  torch,  made  a  supper  fit  for  a 
hungry  Homeric  hero,  or  a  hungrier  American  Profes- 
sor, in  the  very  presence  of  Apollo  and  the  Muses  Nine. 
At  the  proper  time,  the  family  went  to  bed,  figuratively 
speaking;  that  is,  they  plumped  down  on  a  piece  of 
coarse  matting,  just  as  they  were,  extending  their  feet,  like 
radii  of  a  circle  or  spokes  of  a  wheel,  towards  the  fire ; 
while  we  plumped  down  on  the  other  side,  with  our  sad- 
dles for  pillows,  and  with  our  feet  extending  like  opposite 
spokes  towards  the  hub  of  the  same  wheel"  ^ 

*  Greece,  Ancient  and  Modern,  ii.  261-3. 


REIGN  OF  OTHO,  275 

The  testimony  of  the  same  high  authority  to  the  com- 
pleteness and  excellence  of  the  system  of  public  instruc- 
tion at  this  time,  ten  years  before  the  end  of  King  Otho's 
reign,  must  not  be  omitted :  "  The  schools  are  well 
graded,  from  the  lowest  children's  schools,  up  through 
the  Hellenic  schools,  the  gymnasia,  and  the  University, 
and  they  are  all  supported  by  the  government ;  so  that 
a  young  man  who  has  the  bare  means  of  subsistence  may 
acquire  the  best  education  the  country  affords — and  that 
is  as  good  as  can  be  had  anywhere  in  Europe — without 
its  costing  him  a  farthing.  The  quality  of  the  instruction, 
both  in  the  schools  and  in  the  University  of  Athens,  is 
very  excellent.  .  .  .  The  zeal  for  instruction  among  all 
classes  of  the  people  is  indescribable,  greater  than  I  have 
witnessed  anywhere  else  in  the  world."  ^ 

The  schools  and  courts  with  which  Otho  endowed  his 
kingdom  are  of  themselves  enough  to  entitle  his  reign  to 
a  favorable  judgment,  and  himself  to  the  lasting  gratitude 
of  Greece.  The  rock  on  which  his  government  foun- 
dered, and  over  which,  to  his  own  amazement,  he  found 
himself  suddenly  precipitated  from  his  throne,  was  finan- 
cial insolvency.  His  finances  had  been  always  in  a  bad 
way,  and  always  growing  worse.  With  a  revenue  at 
first  of  one  and  a  half  miUions  of  dollars,  and  which,  dur- 
ing Otho's  reign,  never  rose  above  four  millions,  the 
kingdom  began  its  career  with  a  debt  of  twenty-seven 
millions  of  dollars.  But  of  this  sum,  so  large  a  part  had 
been  kept  back  by  the  usurers  who  furnished  the  money, 
and  so  much  had  been  expended  to  set  up  King  Otho's 
Bavarian  Court,  that  not  more  than  five  or  six  millions  of 
^  Id.,  iL  26J. 


tje  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

dollars  had  gone  to  meet  the  necessities  of  the  kingdom.' 
The  interest  on  this  enormous  debt  was  paid  until  1843, 
but  after  that  fell  hopelessly  in  arrears,  until,  in  1856,  the 
three  Powers  which  had  guaranteed  the  interest  appointed 
a  commission  to  inquire  into  the  financial  condition  of  the 
kingdom.  The  report  of  this  commission  in  1859  showed 
the  finances  of  the  government  to  be  in  a  condition  so 
utterly  hopeless  and  irreclaimable,  that  from  that  time,  by 
the  silent  judgment,  not  of  the  Greeks  alone,  but  of  all 
Europe,  the  Bavarian  dynasty  was  doomed.'^  For  three 
years  the  Greeks  patiently  endured,  fearing  lest  by  the 
premature  overthrow  of  their  government  some  worse 
thing  might  come  upon  them ;  but  in  i  Z62  there  was  a 
sudden  and  general  revolutionary  movement,  and  in  the 
last  days  of  October,  King  Otho  abdicated  his  throne. 

This  revolution  was  as  quiet,  orderly,  and  bloodless  as 
that  of  1843,  and  gave  the  civilized  world  a  new  idea  of 
the  peculiar  characteristics  of  the  Greeks.^  A  provisional 
government  was  appointed,  consisting  of  three  members, 
of  whom  old  Constantine  Kanaris  was  one,  who  imme- 
diately proceeded  with  great  calmness  and  dignity  to 
secure  peace  and  order  at  home,  and  to  take  the  only 

^  Edinburgh  Review,  April,  1863,  p.  304. 

*  North  British  Review,  February,  1863,  p.  79. 

3  "  *  The  Greek  people,'  says  About,  in  his  *  Gr^ce  Contemporaine,' 
*  may  be  said  to  have  no  inclination  to  any  kind  of  excess,  and  to  enjoy  all 
kinds  of  pleasure  with  equal  sobriety.  They  are  a  race  without  strong 
passion.  They  are  capable  of  love  and  hatred ;  but  neither  their  love  nor 
their  hatred  is  bHnd.  They  do  good  and  ill  on  reflection,  and  reasoning 
is  always  mixed  up  with  their  most  violent  actions. '  As  far  as  politics  are 
concerned,  the  clever  though  paradoxical  Frenchman's  observations  have 
been  confirmed  by  the  events  of  the  last  two  revolutions."— Ed.  Review, 
April,  1863,  p.  294. 


GEORGE  OF  DENMARK.  %n 

Step  possible  under  the  circumstances  for  the  resettle- 
ment of  the  government,  by  seeking  another  king  from 
the  Allied  Powers.  In  this  emergency  the  Greeks  turned 
to  England,  as  the  Power  from  which  they  had  least  to 
fear,  and  which  they  could  most  confidently  trust,  and, 
with  one  accord  and  great  earnestness,  chose  Prince 
Alfred,  the  second  son  of  Queen  Victoria,  for  their  king. 
The  treaty  stipulations  between  the  three  Powers  were 
such  that  this  choice  could  not  be  ratified,  and  the 
election  finally  fell,  and  with  happy  unanimity,  on  Prince 
William  George,  the  second  son  of  the  present  King  of 
Denmark,  and  brother  of  the  Princess  of  Wales,  who 
ascended  the  throne  of  Greece,  amid  the  universal  joy 
of  the  nation,  October  31st,  1863. 

On  the  27th  of  October,  1867,  King  George  was  mar- 
ried to  the  Princess  Olga,  daughter  of  the  Grand  Duke 
Constantine  of  Russia — "  a  woman  lovely  to  look  upon, 
whether  standing  in  royal  robes,  crowned  with  a  tiara  of 
diamonds,  or  sitting  in  sweet  abandon  in  her  nursery 
surrounded  by  her  children ;  and  from  her  amiability  of 
disposition,  and  her  avoidance  of  all  intermeddling  with 
politics,     .     .     .     universally  beloved  by  her  people."  ^ 

King  George  is  a  sincere  Protestant,'*  and  just  before 
the  return  of  Dr.  King  to  this  country,  in  1 864,  he  sum- 
moned the  veteran  missionary  to  the  palace  to  receive 

^  Tuckerman,  p.  28. 

*  From  fear  of  Rome  on  the  one  hand  and  Russia  on  the  other,  the 
Greeks  at  this  time  were  resolutely  determined  to  have  no  man  for  their 
king  who  was  not  a  Protestant.  The  declaration  was  distinctly  and  em- 
phatically made  at  Athens  during  the  interregnum,  that  the  nation  would 
sooner  return  to  its  old  position  under  the  rule  of  the  Sultan,  than  accept 
another  Catholic  king.     See  Ed.  Review,  April,  1863,  p.  307. 


THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

the  commimion  at  his  hands.  The  impression  made 
upon  Dr.  King  by  the  youthful  sovereign,  then  only 
nineteen  years  of  age,  was  very  happy.  He  seemed 
frank,  honest,  virtuous,  and  truly  religious,  very  simple 
and  unostentatious  in  his  manners,  and  well  deserving 
the  love  of  his  people.^  He  has  now  filled  the  throne 
for  fourteen  years,  and  these  happy  first  impressions 
have  been  confirmed.  He  has  administered  the  govern- 
ment, not  perhaps  with  the  highest  energy  and  ability, 
or  with  the  most  brilliant  success,  producing  no  great  and 
sudden  improvement  in  the  condition  of  the  kingdom, 
but  with  such,  virtue,  such  honesty  of  purpose  and  kind- 
liness of  disposition,  as  to  win  the  love  of  his  people 
and  the  hearty  respect  of  those  who  have  been  brought 
into  the  most  intimate  relations  with  him.^ 

^  These  facts,  and  many  others  in  regard  to  his  work  in  Greece,  were 
communicated  to  the  writer  by  Dr.  King  orally  during  his  stay  in  his  native 
land. 

^  Tuckerman,  pp.  25-31,  lO^ia. 


CHAPTER  X. 


PRESENT  CONDITION   AND    PROSPECTS  OF 
THE    GREEKS. 

THE  GOVERNMENT  STILL  WEAK  —  BRIGANDAGE  — 
PROGRESS  OF  THE  KINGDOM  —  MORALS  —  EDUCA- 
TION—  RELIGION  —  THE  GREEK  CHURCH  —  MIS- 
'  SIONARIES  —  AGRICULTURE  DEPRESSED  —  GREAT 
WANT  OF  THE  KINGDOM  —  THE  GREEKS  ONE 
PEOPLE — THE  GREECE   OF  THE  FUTURE. 

The  hopes  of  those  who  looked  for  a  great  and 
immediate  improvement  in  the  condition  of  the  kingdom 
as  the  result  of  a  change  of  dynasty,  have  not  been 
fully  realized.  The  state  of  things  is  still  very  much  as 
it  was  at  the  time  of  President  Felton's  visit  twenty-four 
years  ago.  Agriculture  is  still  greatly  depressed.  Less 
than  half  the  arable  land  of  the  kingdom  is  under  culti- 
vation.^ The  old  Turkish  fiscal  system  is  still  retained, 
and  the  peasants,  still  bound  hand  and  foot  by  the  tax- 
gatherer,  are  hardly  less  indolent  and  unaspiring,  in 
many  parts  of  the  kingdom,  than  they  were  in  King 
Otho's  time.'*  As  in  Mr.  Senior's  day,  the  government  is 
still  something  of  a  '*job,"  successive   ministries  (with 

^  Tuckerman,  p.  159.  '  Id.,  pp.  162-4. 


13 


28o  THE  MODERN-  GREEKS, 

whom,  rather  than  with  the  King,  as  is  the  case  in 
England,  rests  the  larger  share  of  substantial  power) 
managing  the  government  in  the  interest  of  their  own 
followers  and  friends,  so  that  a  multitude  of  needless 
officials  in  the  military,  naval,  and  civil  services  swallow 
up  the  funds  which  are  urgently  needed  for  the  building 
of  roads  and  the  payment  of  the  national  debt.^  Worst 
of  ail,  the  northern  districts  of  the  country  have  still  con- 
tinued to  be  cursed  by  brigandage,  to  such  a  degree  that 
no  traveler  was  safe  unless  protected  by  a  strong  mili- 
tary guard. 

In  January,  1870,  a  band  of  twenty-eight  robbers 
crossed  the  northern  boundary  of  the  kingdom  from  the 
Turkish  territories,  and  produced  the  greatest  consterna- 
tion at  Athens.'^  They  were  at  once  pursued  by  flying 
detachments  of  soldiers,  and  several  of  them  were  killed 
or  taken.  They  then  disappeared,  and  were  not  heard 
of  again  until  April,  when  they  waylaid  a  party  of  trav- 
elers in  the  neighborhood  of  Marathon,  and  made  cap- 
tives of  three  English  gentlemen  of  the  highest  standing, 
with  Count  De  Boyl,  secretary  of  the  Italian  Legation. 
As  a  ransom  for  their  prisoners  they  demanded  the  sum 
of  twenty-five  thousand  pounds  sterling.  The  money 
was  immediately  raised,  and  was  ready  for  delivery,  when 
the  robbers  raised  their  demand,  and  insisted  upon  a  free 
pardon  and  full  amnesty  for  atl  their  band.  This  the 
government  could  not  grant,  and,  after  long  and  fruitless 
negotiations,  an  attempt  was  made  to  secretly  surround 
the  band  with  a  cordon  of  soldiers,  in  the  hope  of  taking 
them  all  alive  with  their  prisoners.  The  attempt  resulted 
*  Tuckcrman,  p.  159.  «  Id.,  pp.  255-91. 


BRIGANDAGE.  aSi 

only  in  a  fearful  tragedy,  which  shocked  the  whole  civ- 
ilized world.  Finding  themselves  entrapped,  the  robbers 
put  their  prisoners  to  death  and  took  to  flight  Ten  only 
escaped,  the  leader  and  seven  of  the  band  being  killed 
and  four  taken  prisoners.  This  most  painful  catastrophe 
produced  a  wild  outburst  of  indignation  and  wrath  from 
Western  Europe,  and  especially  from  England,  against 
the  Greeks  and  their  government,  as  if  the  whole  people 
were  a  race  of  cut-throats,  their  whole  country  a  den  of 
robbers  and  pirates. 

In  his  remarks  upon  this  subject,  Mr.  Tuckerman  shows 
clearly  the  entire  injustice  of  these  sweeping  charges, 
and  the  exceeding  difficulty  of  extirpating  brigandage 
from  Northern  Greece,  unless  the  Turkish  authorities 
will  co-operate  with  energy  and  good  faith  on  the  other 
side  of  the  line.  The  brigands  for  the  most  part  are 
Turkish  subjects,  and  have  their  retreats  upon  Turkish 
territory,  where  they  are  safe  from  the  Greek  patrols.  The 
country  is  very  sparsely  settled,  wholly  d-estitute  of 
roads,  and  full  of  wild  and  almost  inaccessible  mountain 
fastnesses.  The  villagers,  to  say  nothing  of  some  old  and 
hereditary  respect  for  the  mountain  Klepht,^  are  wholly 
at  the  mercy  of  the  brigands,  and  are  compelled  to  con- 
nive at  their  proceedings  and  to  furnish  them  with  sup- 
plies. This  connection  with  village  voters  often  gives  the 
brigand  chiefs  no  small  political  power,  if  not  a  strong 
secret  foothold  with  the  government  itself;  since  they 

*  For  an  admirable  account  of  modern  Greek  brigands  and  their  rela- 
tions with  the  common  people,  an  account  applying  to  Greece  as  truly  as  to 
Asia  Minor,  the  reader  is  referred  to  Dr.  Van  Lennep's  gjraphic  little  story, 
"  Ten  Days  among  the  Greek  Brigands." 


282  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

are  able  to  decide  many  a  local  election,  and  to  insure 
success  or  defeat  to  many  an  aspirant  for  place  and  power. 
Up  to  1870,  the  government,  first  of  Otho  and  afterwards 
of  King  George,  partly  through  weakness  and  remissness 
and  partly  through  the  great  difficulties  of  the  undertak- 
ing, had  so  entirely  failed  to  suppress  brigandage  in 
Northern  Greece,  that  a  stranger  of  wealth  was  hardly 
safe,  if  traversing  the  country  alone,  even  in  sight  of  the 
capital  itself  But  by  the  terrible  tragedy  above  described, 
both  the  Greek  and  Turkish  governments  were  roused  to 
such  vigorous  action  that,  for  the  time,  the  robber  bands 
were  very  generally  hunted  down  and  broken  up. 

Thus  far,  it  must  be  acknowledged,  the  country  has 
remained  very  poor,  the  government  has  been  to  a  pain- 
ful degree  inefficient  and  weak.  Yet,  looking  back  over 
the  forty  years  of  settled  government  which  the  kingdom 
"has  enjoyed,  we  see  at  once  that  its  progress  has  been 
steady  and  on  the  whole  very  great.  "  Greece  has  .  .  . 
in  these  thirty-five  or  forty  years  of  freedom  doubled 
her  population,^  and  increased  her  revenues  five  hundred 
per  cent.  Eleven  new  cities  have  been  founded  on  sites 
formerly  deserted.  More  than  forty  towns  reduced  to 
ruins  by  the  war  have  been  rebuilt,  restored  to  regular 
proportions,  and  enlarged,  presenting  at  present  the  as- 
pect of  prosperous  and  progressive  cities.  .  .  .  Eight 
or  ten  ports  have  been  cleared,  deepened,  and  opened  to 

'  The  population  of  the  kingdom  in  1870  was  1,457,894;  the  chief  in- 
crease within  the  past  fifteen  years  having  been  frcra  the  acquisition  of  the 
Ionian  Islands  (Corfu,  Santa  Maura,  Ithica,  Cephalonia,  and  Zante),  which 
formerly  constituted  a  small  republic,  with  a  population  of  about  220,000, 
under  the  protection  of  Great  Britain,  but  were  annexed  to  the  Kingdom 
of  Gr«ece  by  a  treaty  signed  November  14th,  1863. 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  KINCDOM.  2^ 

communication.  Lighthouses  and  bridges  have  been 
erected.  From  four  hundred  and  forty  vessels,  measuring 
61,410  tons,  her  merchant  fleet  has  increased  to  more 
than  five  thousand  vessels,  of  330,000  tons.  Nearly  a 
hundred  thousand  vessels  enter  Greek  ports  yearly,  of 
which  more  than  three-quarters  are  engaged  in  the  coast- 
ing trade.  The  united  value  of  imports  and  exports  ex- 
ceeds twenty-five  millions  of  dollars.  Greece  has  five 
chambers  of  commerce,  numerous  insurance  companies, 
and  a  national  bank,  the  associated  capital  of  which  ex- 
ceeds eight  milHons  of  dollars.  In  1830,  the  small 
dried  grape  of  Corinth,  of  which  the  word  **  currant  "  is 
a  corruption,  and  which  forms  the  chief  article  of  ex 
port,  sold  at  about  $120  the  ton.  It  now  sells  at  from 
$20  to  $30,  which  indicates  the  enormous  increase  in  the 
production  of  this  one  article  of  commerce,  from  about 
ten  millions  of  pounds  before  the  Revolution,  to  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  milHons  now." ' 

The  progress  of  the  kingdom  has  not  been  alone  in  the 
direction  of  a  merely  material  prosperity ;  in  the  moral, 
social,  and  intellectual  interests  of  society  it  has  been 
yet  more  marked  and  encouraging.  The  Greek  peas- 
antry were  virtuous  and  honest,  as  a  class,  before  the 
Revolution,  and  they  are  so  still ;  while  the  vices  engen- 
dered by  Turkish  rule  in  the  wealthier  and  more  influ- 
ential classes  have  in  great  measure  disappeared.  Pres- 
ident Felton  found  the  educated  Greeks  "  not  only  well 
bred,  but  generally  of  high  and  honorable  views."  ^  Mr. 
Tuckerman  expresses  a  similar  judgment  at  much  length 
and  with  equal  confidence.      He  found  the  commercial 

*  Tuckerman,  148-9.  *  Greece,  Ancient  and  Modern,  ii.  260. 


284  THE  MODERN-  GREEKS, 

and  working  classes  of  *'  free  Greece  "  as  respectable  and 
honest  as  people  in  the  like  circumstances  in  any  other 
part  of  Europe.  A  Greek  servant  could  usually  be 
safely  intrusted  with  money  or  valuables  to  any  amount, 
would  very  rarely  steal.  The  common  people  were  uni- 
versally chaste,  temperate,  and  hospitable.  "  Domestic 
fidelity,  maternal  affection,  family  unity,  and  the  cheerful 
discharge  of  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  wedded 
life  are  nowhere  more  beautifully  illustrated  than  among 
the  Greeks."  * 

Of  political  corruption,  Mr.  Tuckerman  did,  unhappily, 
find  abundant  evidence.*  Not,  however,  in  the  way  of 
venality,  peculation,  and  personal  dishonesty.  Of  these 
vices  there  seemed  to  be  as  little  as  in  any  other  country. 
The  high  officials  of  the  government  were  usually  poor, 
and  left  office  as  poor  as  they  entered  it.  The  evil  prac- 
tices lay  rather  in  the  endeavor  of  each  successive  ministry 
to  manage  the  elections,  and  direct  the  whole  machinery 
of  government  in  the  interests  of  its  own  party  and 
political  dependents.  For  these  evils  there  are  two  suffi- 
cient reasons  in  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  the  country. 
The  first  is  the  absence  of  any  efficient  and  salutary 
check  upon  the  government  in  an  intelligent  and  power- 
ful public  sentiment.  The  Greeks  are  no  longer  an  igno- 
rant people.  So  far  as  mere  school  instruction  is  con- 
cerned, they  are,  perhaps,  the  best  educated  people  in 
the  world.  "  It  may  be  safely  asserted  that  no  man, 
woman,  or  child  born  in  the  kingdom  since  the  organi- 
sation of  free  institutions  is  so  deficient  in  elementary 

*  See  Mr.  Tuckerman's  closing  chapter — "  Character  of  the  Greeks." 

•  "The  Greeks  of  To-day,"  pp.  94-7. 


POLITICAL  NEEDS.  285 

knowledge  as  not  to  be  able  to  read  and  write."  *  With 
a  free  government,  such  a  people  will  certainly  learn  in 
no  very  long  time  to  take  care  of  themselves. 

But  as  yet  the  knowledge  of  the  Greeks,  universally 
diffused  as  it  is,  is  a  mere  school-boy  knowledge.  To 
the  great  body  of  the  people,  that  poHtical  intelligence 
and  training  which  would  fit  them  to  form  a  just  opinion 
upon  important  questions,  and  to  exert  a  controlling  in- 
fluence in  public  affairs,  is  entirely  wanting,  "  Such  a 
thing  as  a  public  meeting  in  village,  town,  or  city,  com- 
posed of  the  working  or  industrious  classes,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  discussing  or  enforcing  a  public  measure,  is  a 
spectacle  never  witnessed  in  Greece."  ^     The  peasantry 

■  Id.,  p.  179.  "At  present,  according  to  official  reports,  there  are  73,- 
219  persons  under  instruction  in  Greece  at  public  establishnients,  and  7,978 
persons  at  private  establishments,  making  in  all  81,197,  or  one  to  about  18 
of  the  population.  First  come  the  primary  schools,  1,141  in  number. 
.  .  .  The  Hellenic  grammar  schools  and  gymnasia  (colleges)  follow 
with  about  2,000  pupils ;  and  the  University  completes  the  system  of  ed- 
ucation. .  .  .  The  University  .  .  .  has  50  professors  and  1,244 
students,  a  large  proportion  of  whom  are  Greeks  from  the  Turkish  prov- 
inces. .  .  .  Connected  with  the  University  is  a  library  of  about  a  hun- 
dred thousand  volumes ;  a  mathematical  museum,  a  museum  of  natural 
history  (incomplete),  an  astronomical  observatory,  erected  by  Baron  Sinna, 
the  well-known  Greek  banker  at  Vienna,  ...  a  botanical  garden,  and 
a  polytechnic  school.  .  .  .  This  desire  for  mutual  improvement  ex- 
tends to  all  classes  and  ages.  Men  who  have  missed  opportunities  of 
schooling  when  young  devote  their  evenings  and  moments  of  leisure  .  .  . 
to  earnest  study." — Id.,  179-^0. 

"The  aisles  of  the  University  lecture  rooms  were  crowded  with  young 
\(ien,  and  sometimes  old  men,  who,  having  an  hour  to  spare  from  their 
daily  labors,  would  come  in  to  pick  up  the  crumbs  of  instruction  that  were 
falling  from  the  tables  of  tjieir  more  favored  juniors.  Not  once  did  I  enter 
a  school-house,  during  a  three  inonths'  residence  in.  Athens,  without  wit- 
nessing this  extraordinary  spectacle." — Felton,  ii.  518. 

*  Tuckerman,  p.  ilj. 


286  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

are  quiet,  peaceable,  and  loyal,  and  never  think  of  resist* 
ing  the  government,  whatever  course  it  may  pursue. 
Acting  thus,  without  the  needful  and  controlling  restraint 
of  an  inteUigent  and  powerful  public  sentiment,  each  suc- 
ceeding ministry  is  under  the  constant  and  strong  temp- 
tation to  provide  for  its  own  friends,  to  carry  its  own 
measures,  and  maintain  itself  in  power,  by  questionable 
and  illegitimate  means. 

In  the  second  place,  it  is  probable  that  in  no  other 
country  in  the  world  does  so  large  a  proportion  of  the 
educated  class  of  young  men  look  to  political  life  as  a 
permanent  profession  and  source  of  Hvehhood.  Before 
the  multitude  of  young  men  graduating  every  year  from 
the  University  and  other  higher  schools,  the  openings  to 
useful  and  profitable  Employment  are  comparatively  very 
few  and  narrow.  To  the  Church  they  rarely  give  a 
thought  The  parish  priest  is  usually  too  ignorant  and 
too  poorly  paid  to  make  his  post  at  all  inviting.  The 
legal  profession  is  greatly  overstocked,  and  the  mercan- 
tile houses  have  already  a  crowd  of  applicants  for  every 
vacant  post  As  teachers,  there  is  employment  for  a  few 
at  home  ;  for  more,  if  they  can  bring  their  minds  to  such 
a  life,  among  their  countrymen  in  the  various  provinces 
of  the  Turkish  dominions. 

Too  often  the  young  man  finds  himself  prepared  for 
active  life  with  nothing  before  him  but  to  become  a  hanger 
on  of  some  political  cHque,  in  the  hope  that  in  some 
way,  and  at  some  time,  he  may  secure  some  office,  and  so 
climb  to  power.  The  class  of  professed  politicians,  always 
needy,  hungry,  and  ready  for  aiiy  service,  honorable  or 
dishonorable,  is  thus  constantly  recruited  and  enlarged. 


FOIBLES  OF  THE  GREEKS,  28^ 

"Rie  political  world  in  Greece  is  thus  always  divided  into 
two  large  and  hostile  parties  ;  one  of  them  in  power,  and 
doing  its  best  to  maintain  itself,  and  make  the  most  of  its 
little  day ;  the  other  out  of  power,  and  straining  every 
nerve  to  oust  the  existing  ministry  and  get  itself  into  the 
vacant  places.  This  evil  will  find  its  natural  and  effectual 
remedy  in  the  advancing  prosperity,  especially  the  agri- 
cultural prosperity  of  the  country,  as  wider  and  more  in- 
viting fields  are  opened  to  the  activity  of  intelligent 
young  men. 

The  population  of  the  Greek  cities  is  quiet,  orderly,  and 
peaceable.  Mr.  Tuckerman  assures  us  that  in  Athens,  a 
eity  of  nearly  fifty  thousand  inhabitants,  a  criminal  or  a 
"rowdy"  class  is  almost  unknown.  **  Such  crimes  as 
housebreaking,  highway  robbery,  or  even  pocket-pick- 
ing, are  extremly  rare  at  Athens.  On  the  occasion  of 
the  celebration  of  the  semi-centennial  anniversary  of  Greek 
independence,  when  the  streets  were  choked  for  hours  with 
dense  crowds,  not  less  than  fifty  thousand  people,  as  was 
estimated,  being  in  the  streets  to  witness  the  military  pa- 
geant, when  every  house,  excepting  those  in  the  line  of  the 
procession,  was  deserted,  "  not  the  meanest  servant  con- 
senting to  remain  at  home  on  such  an  occasion,"  not  the 
slightest  disturbance  occurred ;  no  house  or  shop  was  en- 
tered, not  a  pocket  was  picked.  .  .  .  No  crowd  is 
more  easily  gathered  together  than  a  Greek  crowd,  and 
nowhere  does  a  large  assembly  more  quietly  disperse."  ^ 

The  chief  and  universal  foibles  of  the  Greeks  are  an 
inordinate  egotism  and  vanity,  and  a  love  of  subtilty 
suid  finesse.      They  are  a  passionate  race,  though  their 

»  "ITie  Greeks  of  To-day,"  pp.  345  7. 


2S8  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

passions  are  almost  always  under  control,  and  jealousy 
and  revenge  rankle  deeply  in  their  minds.  In  the  wilder 
districts  the  knife  and  the  pistol  are  too  often  appealed 
to  for  swift  retribution  upon  fancied  wrongs.  "  The  Greek 
is  notoriously  sharp-witted,  and  takes  a  pride  in  his  wit 
To  be  outmaneuvered  in  a  bargain,  especially  by  one 
of  his  own  countrymen,  is  a  source  of  the  deepest  mor- 
tification. Hence  the  proverb,  '  When  Greek  meets 
Greek,  then  comes  the  tug  of  war.'  It  is  very  amusing 
to  stand  by  and  watch  the  process  of  a  business  trans- 
action, even  if  it  be  the  buying  and  selling  of  a  string 
of  dried  onions."  ^  In  keenness,  shrewdness,  and  sub- 
tilty,  the  Athenian  of  to-day  is  hardly  inferior  to  his 
ancestor  of  twenty-two  centuries  ago.  "  A  Greek  will 
look  one  in  the  eye  and  fathom  one's  thoughts  before  ex- 
pressing his  own.  He  calculates  your  wants  rather  than 
his  own ;  he  assents,  or  seems  to  assent,  with  eyes  and 
tongue,  while  mentally  snapping  his  fingers  at  your 
ignorance  or  folly.  You  may  leave  him  with  the  im- 
pression that  your  superior  intelligence  or  persuasion 
has  made  a  deep  impression ;  he  may  leave  you  with  a 
feeling  that  he  is  relieved  of  a  bore.  He  understands 
you  better  than  you  understand  him ;  and  while  you  go 
away  deceived  by  your  own  want  of  perception,  he  goes 
away  with  a  respect  for  your  honesty,  but  more  and 
more  convinced  that  your  nation  and  habits  are  at  fault 
The  Greek  will  not  contrive  to  delude  unless  in  a  game 
of  wits ;  but  he  despairs  of  assimilation,  and,  wishing 
your  friendship,  avoids  antagonism.  If  he  believes  in 
anything,  it  is  himself,  and  in  his  origin  ;  in  his  capabil* 

» Id.,  341. 


SUPERSTITION.  389 

ities,  in  the  superiority  of  his  rights.  If  he  is  despised 
and  thwarted,  he  laments  his  fate,  which  he  puts  upon 
his  poverty,  or  his  physical  inability  to  cope  with  his 
adversary.  He  appears  weak,  and  offers  no  resisting 
hand  ;  but  he  wraps  himself  in  his  own  merits,  and  finds 
compensation  in  ideas."  ^ 

To  the  American  Christian,  the  most  discouraging 
feature  in  the  present  state  of  things  among  the  Greeks 
is  the  steadfast,  unanimous  adherence  of  the  whole  na- 
tion to  the  superstitions  and  formahties  of  their  Church. 
In  this  respect  there  has  been,  as  yet,  but  little  apparent 
change.  With  very  few  exceptions,  the  whole  body  of 
the  people,  educated  and  uneducated,  urban  and  rustic, 
commercial  and  agricultural,  cling  with  the  same  immov- 
able, unquestioning  devotion  to  their  national  Church. 
Rapid  as  has  been  the  spread  of  education  and  intelli- 
gence among  the  peasantry  within  the  past  thirty  years, 
their  old  superstitions  still  seem  to  maintain  a  steady  hold 
upon  their  minds.  In  their  faith  in  ceremonies  and  forms, 
in  their  reverence  for  relics,  pictures,  and  saints,  especially 
in  their  veneration  for  the  Virgin  Mary,  they  appear  to  be 
hardly  behind  their  fathers  of  a  hundred  years  ago. 

This  reign  of  superstition  and  ecclesiasticism  is,  how- 
ever, far  less  complete  and  secure  than,  to  a  casual  ob- 
server, it  might  at  first  appear.  This  we  shall  see  plainly 
enough  as  we  go  on.  We  shall  also  see  that  for  the 
steadfast,  not  to  say  bigoted,  orthodoxy  of  all  classes  of 
the  Greeks,  and  for  the  superstition  and  religious  igno- 
rance of  the  common  people,  there  have  been  two  strong 
and  sufficient  reasons. 

*  Id,,  334. 


S90  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

In  the  first  place,  the  immovable  devotion  to  their  na- 
tional Church,  which  fires  the  breasts  of  all  intelHgent 
Greeks,  is  far  more  political  than  religious.  Their  Church 
is  now,  as  it  has  been  for  four  hundred  years,  the  one 
and  only  bond  of  union  and  nationality  to  the  Greek 
people.  They  are  a  nation  without  a  country.  The 
little  Kingdom  of  Greece  embraces  less  than  half  their 
numbers ;  and  "  The  Great  Idea  "  of  a  Greek  Empire  in 
which  they  shall  all  be  united — an  Empire  which  shall 
rival  the  power  and  glory  of  mediaeval  Constantinople — 
is  an  idea  which  they  can  hope  to  see  realized  only  in  a 
distant  future.  Meanwhile,  the  only  thing  which  binds 
them  together,  which  gives  them  a  conscious  and  vigor- 
ous national  life,  and  makes  them  feel  that  they  are  one, 
is  their  national  Church.  Thus,  for  a  Greek  to  forsake 
the  church  of  his  fathers  is  something  more  than  to 
change  his  religion.  It  seems  to  him  that  it  is  to  dena- 
tionalize himself,  to  give  up  all  his  patriotic  aspirations, 
and  prove  false  to  that  glorious  country  of  the  present 
and  the  future  which  he  loves  a  hundred  times  more 
than  he  loves  his  life.-^  This  is  the  great  reason  why 
the  best  educated,  the  most  Hberal,  even  the  most  free- 
thinking  Greeks,  almost  without  a  single  exception,  re- 
main so  invincibly  loyal  to  their  Church.  In  their  Church 
the  Greeks  are  one ;  out  of  it,  as  it  seems  to  them,  their 
nationality  would  be  hopelessly  dissolved. 

In  the  second  place,  the  continued  prevalence  of  super- 
stition and  religious  ignorance  among  the  peasantry  is 
largely  owing  to  the  unintelligent  and  greatly  depressed 
condition  of  the  parish  priesthood.     The  parochial  priests 

*  See  Tuckerman,  pp.  339-40. 


PREACHING.  191 

are  married;  they  live  with  their  families  among  their 
people,  and  are  in  general  kindly  and  worthy  men.     But 
for  the  most  part  they  are  deplorably  ignorant  and  very 
poor.     This  low  condition  of  the  regular  priesthood,  the 
spiritual  shepherds  and  teachers  of  the  people,  is  perhaps 
the  greatest  hindrance  in  the  way  of  the  true  and  health- 
ful advancement  of  the  Greeks.     It  springs,  in  great  part 
at  least,  from  the  old  and  inveterate  evil  by  which  the 
Greeks  have  been  cursed  for  a  thousand  years,  and  upon 
which  we  have  already  dwelt  —  the  hostile  rivalry  of  the 
monkish  hierarchy  towards  the  married  parochial  clergy. 
As  no  married  priest  can  rise  to  the  higher  dignities 
of  the  Church,   the  bishops  are  all   monks;  and  as  all 
ecclesiastical  power  is  in  their  hands,  they  have  been  able 
thus  far  to   prevent  the  parish  priests  from   obtaining 
either  intelligence  or  influence,     **  The  love  of  power  is 
nowhere  more  strongly  manifested  than  in  the  Synod  of 
Bishops.     To  retain  their  power  they  discourage  the  ele- 
vation of  the  lower  orders  of  the  clergy,  and  would,  if 
they  could,  debar  them  from  rising  into  popular  notori- 
ety or  favor  by  the  exercise  of  any  natural  talents  they 
may  possess.  .    .    .    Among  the  priests  there  occasionally 
appear  men,  who,  from  having  been  in  contact  with  for- 
eign society,  or  from  having  acquired  the  advantages  of 
foreign  education,  desire  to  cleanse  the  Church  of  its  im- 
purities, and  incite  a  more  active  religious  principle  in 
the  masses.     To  do  this  they  have  established  regular 
preaching  in  the  churches,  which  has  heretofore  been 
almost  neglected   in   Greece.     But  difficulties  and  hin- 
drances have  been  thrown  in  the  way  of  their  noble  efforts, 
'vhich  seriously  discourage  the  hopes  of  permanent  re- 


292  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

forms.  The  preacher,  especially  if  he  is  in  clanger  of  be- 
coming popular,  is  closely  watched ;  and  if  anything  in 
his  language  from  the  pulpit  can  be  construed  into  too 
great  latitude  in  points  of  religious  faith,  the  interdiction 
of  the  bishop  falls  upon  his  head,  and  for  a  series  of  Sab- 
baths, or  of  months,  he  is  suspended  from  the  exercise  of 
his  holy  functions.  ...  At  present  the  Fathers  of  the 
Church  are  little  better  than  an  oligarchy,  whose  impe- 
rious will  brings  the  entire  priesthood  into  a  narrow  ma- 
terial subserviency  to  power,  which  degenerates  and 
weakens  the  whole  system."  * 

This  is  a  sad  and  discouraging  statement,  but  it  evi- 
dently describes  a  state  of  things  which  cannot  last.  In 
a  country  where .  every  man  can  read,  and  is  eagerly 
watching  for  every  new  idea — a  country  flooded  with 
newspapers  and  periodicals,  and  enjoying  the  most  per- 
fect freedom  of  discussion  and  opinion — it  is  very  clear 
that  this  selfish  tyranny  of  a  few  stupid  monks  will  not 
long  be  endured.  The  parochial  clergy  must  rise  in  in- 
telligence as  their  people  rise,  and  the  time  cannot  be 
distant  when  they  will  assert  their  rights,  and  take  the 
place  which  is  justly  theirs.  When  they  shall  have  done 
this,  there  is  not  very  much  in  the  constitution  and  laws 
of  their  Church  to  prevent  them  from  preaching  the  gos- 
pel of  Christ  in  its  purity  and  simplicity.  The  movement 
referred  to  above  in  the  direction  of  preaching,  and  the 
-active  lellgious  instruction  of  the  people,  is  full  of  prom- 
ise. For  more  than  twenty  years  able  and  in  some  re- 
spects excellent  sermons — sermons  sometimes  two  hours 
long — have  been  constantly  listened  to  by  crowds  of  peo- 
*  Tuckerman,  203-6. 


THE  GREEK  CHURCH,  jgH 

pie  in  the  churches  of  Athens,^  and  probably  of  the  othei 
cities  as  well.  In  such  preaching,  in  a  free  country,  there 
is  a  power  which  cannot  be  withstood ;  and  it  must  and 
will  extend  itself  throughout  the  Kingdom. 

The  Church  of  the  Kingdom  stands  on  a  footing  of  en- 
tire independence.  Since  the  Revolution  the  Patriarch 
of  Constantinople  has  been  a  mere  tool  of  the  Porte,  to 
whom  the  Greeks  could  not  pay  their  allegiance.  For 
tliirty  years  the  ecclesiastical  affairs  of  the  Kingdom  re- 
mained in  a  confused  state ;  but  in  18.52  a  law  was  pass- 
ed which  gave  the  Greek  Church  within  the  Kingdom  an 
independent  and  permanent  organization.  The  govern- 
ment of  the  Church  was  vested  in  a  Holy  Synod,  con- 
sisting of  the  Archbishop  of  Athens  as  Metropolitan  and 
presiding  officer,  and  five  other  members  with  equal 
votes,  chosen  from  the  diocesan  bishops  of  the  Kingdom. 
At  the  meetings  of  the  Synod  a  government  commis- 
sioner is  always  present,  though  without  a  vote.^ 

For  more  than  forty  years  a  missionary  work  has  been 
sustained  in  Greece  by  the  American  churches  of  several 
denominations;  but  for  reasons  already  explained,  the 
results  of  these  labors  apparent  to  the  eye  of  the  casual 

'  Baird,  134;  Felton,  ii.  519;  Tuckerman,  204.  The  greatest  practical 
difficulty  in  the  way  of  the  preaching  of  a  pure  gospel  by  the  Greek  priest,  is 
the  worship  of  the  Virgin,  which  seems  to  be  impregnably  fixed  at  once  in 
the  canons  of  the  Church,  in  the  books  of  devotion,  and  in  the  hearts  of  the 
r^opie.     bee  Baird,  122. 

2  Report  of  the  Greek  Minister  of  Pubhc  Worship  for  the  year  1865,  in 
the  London  Colonial  Church  Chronicle  for  1866.  From  this  report  it  ap- 
pears that  four  hundred  and  twelve  convents  had  been  closed,  and  that  in  the 
Kingdom  of  Greece  there  then  remained  one  hundred  and  fifty-two  convents, 
with  three  thousand  monka  and  two  hundred  nuns.  The  monks  are  still 
equal  in  numbers  to  the  parish  priests. 


294  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

observer  have  been  limited.  Dr.  King  was  sent  to  Greece 
by  the  ladies  of  New  York,  in  May,  1822,  and  received 
his  commission  as  a  missionary  of  the  American  Board  in 
1830.  Dr.  Riggs  joined  him  in  1833,  and  Mr.  Benjamin 
in  1836.  These  able  and  earnest  representatives  of  our 
American  Christianity  at  once  entered  zealously  upon 
their  labors.  They  established  schools,  translated  and 
published  books,  circulated  the  Scriptures,  and  preached 
the  gospel  as  opportunity  was  given  them.  For  a  time 
they  were  welcomed  by  the  authorities  and  the  people, 
and  their  labors  seemed  to  promise  large  results.  But 
these  favorable  indications  did  not  long  continue.  The 
bishops  took  alarm,  seeing  clearly  enough  that  their  own 
power  was  becoming  endangered,  and  at  their  instigation 
the  government  took  such  action  as  in  great  measure 
closed  the  door  to  the  usefulness  of  the  missionaries.  As 
the  result,  Dr.  Riggs  left  the  field  in  1838,  and  Mr.  Ben- 
jamin in  1843.  From  that  time  for  twenty-one  years, 
until  in  1864,  a  war-worn  veteran,  he  left  the  field  for  a 
visit  to  his  native  land,  Dr.  King  remained  at  his  post 
alone. 

Few  nobler  examples  of  an  heroic  and  exhaustless  pa- 
tience, and  an  entire  devotion  to  the  cause  of  Christ  and 
humanity,  have  adorned  the  annals  of  the  missionary 
work.  Constantly  opposed  and  persecuted,  sometimes 
imprisoned  and  threatened  with  the  loss  of  all  things, 
sometimes  in  peril  even  of  his  life,  he  steadily  adhered  to 
his  one  inflexible  purpose  to  give  the  labors  of  his  life  to 
the  cause  of  Christ  in  Greece.  Thus  he  stood  manfully 
at  his  post,  while,  so  far  as  the  world  could  see,  he  was 
laboring  almost  in  vain.     He  has  entered  into  his  rest  and 


DR,  KING.  99S 

his  work  is  done ;  but  even  now,  to  the  superficial  obser- 
ver, there  appears  as  the  fruit  of  all  these  forty  years  of 
indefatigable  toil  no  important  and  enduring  result  Dr. 
King  founded  no  church,  made  no  considerable  numbei 
of  converts,  gathered  about  himself  no  strong  or  influen- 
tial party,  in  Church  or  in  State.  But  his  work  was  not 
in  vain,  did  not  fail  of  important  and  satisfying  results. 

The  life  of  Dr.  King  in  Greece  was  one  long  and  earn- 
est protest  against  the  errors  of  the  Greek  Church.  With 
a  piety  of  apostolic  fervor  and  simpHcity,  with  great  learn- 
ing, and  with  irresistible  clearness  and  cogency  of  reason- 
ing, he  never  ceased  in  his  endeavors  to  make  those  errors 
clear  to  the  minds  of  the  Greeks,  and  to  teach  them  a 
more  excellent  way.  The  Greeks  are  quick-witted  and 
free-spirited,  and  nothing  so  delights  them  as  keen  and 
vigorous  discussion.  They  are  always  ready  to  read 
everything  both  for  and  against  their  own  views,  and  Dr. 
King  could  never  complain  that  he  was  refused  a  hear- 
ing. His  arguments  and  those  of  his  friends  were  care- 
fully listened  to  and  widely  read.  They  carried  convic- 
tion to  many  enhghtened  and  liberal  minds,  and  proved 
a  powerful  leaven  which  is  still  pursuing  its  silent  but 
ever  extending  work. 

Dr.  King's  first  great  struggle  was  for  the  free  dissemi- 
nation of  the  Scriptures  in  the  vulgar  tongue.  This  had 
never  been  forbidden  by  the  Church,  but  with  the  clear 
instincts  of  an  ecclesiastical  despotism,  the  bishops  set 
themselves  resolutely  against  it.  The  battle,  however, 
was  triumphantly  fought  out,  and  now  every  Greek  in 
Greece  may  read  freely  in  his  own  tongue  the  Word  of 
eternal  truth.     But  when  from  this  success  Dr.  King  ad- 


296  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

vanced  to  attack  the  worship  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  he 
touched  the  Greeks  upon  a  very  tender  point.  The  com- 
mon people,  as  strong  in  their  devotion  to  "  the  Mother 
of  God  "  as  their  fathers  in  the  days  of  Nestorius,  were 
filled  with  an  intense  and  fanatical  bitterness,  and  from 
the  whole  Kingdom  rose  one  universal  clamor  for  his  ex- 
pulsion or  punishment.  The  crisis  of  Dr.  King's  career 
in  Greece  occurred  in  his  famous  trial  before  the  Crimi- 
nal Court  of  Athens,  on  the  charge  of  reviling  the  Greek 
Church,  March  5th,  1852.^  He  had  scrupulously  con- 
formed in  all  things  to  the  letter  of  the  law.  He  had 
preached  only  in  his  own  house,  had  formed  no  church, 
and  in  all  his  writings  for  the  press  had  never  trans- 
cended the  rights  secured  to  him  in  the  plainest  terms 
by  the  constitution  and  the  laws.  But  the  clamors  of 
the  clergy  and  the  populace  at  last  prevailed,  and  the 
government  determined  to  bring  the  troublesome  mis- 
sionary to  trial. 

The  proceedings  in  this  memorable  trial  were  a  mere 
farce  from  beginning  to  end.  Law  and  evidence  were 
alike  disregarded,  and  the  Court,  determined  beforehand 
to  convict,  speedily  reached  its  judgment,  that  Dr.  King 
should  be  imprisoned  for  fifteen  days,  should  pay  the 
costs  of  prosecution,  and  afterwards  be  expelled  from 
Greece.  No  sooner,  however,  was  the  trial  over  than  a 
strong  reaction  set  in.  All  intelligent  men  were  shocked 
and  disgusted  at  such  a  flagrant  mockery  of  justice,  and 
the  Athenian  press,  almost  with  one  accord,  was  loud  in 
denunciation  and  ridicule  of  the  whole  affair.  Nor  was 
this  all.  Dr.  King  was  at  this  time  Consular  Agent  of 
'  Baird,  355-67 ;  Felton,  U.  489-93 ;  Tuckennan,  214-17. 


DR,  XING.  397 

the  United  States  at  Athens.  As  such,  he  drew  up  a  re- 
port of  the  injustice  to  which  he  had  been  subjected, 
which  he  forwarded  to  Mr.  Webster,  then  Secretary  of 
State.  Mr.  Webster  acted  in  the  matter  with  character- 
istic promptitude  and  energy.  He  at  once  directed  Mr. 
Marsh,  American  Minister  at  Constantinople,  to  proceed 
to  Athens  and  investigate  the  subject.  The  next  year, 
Mr.  Everett,  who  succeeded  to  the  Department  of  State 
on  Mr.  Webster's  death,  acting  on  Mr.  Marsh's  report, 
addressed  an  energetic  remonstrance  to  the  Greek  gov- 
ernment, as  the  result  of  which,  after  some  delay,  the  un- 
just action  of  the  court  was  entirely  annulled. 

From  this  time  Dr.  King  found  his  position  at  Athens 
greatly  improved.  Not  only  had  a  strong  expression  been 
called  forth  in  his  favor  among  the  Greeks,  but  the  whole 
nation  had  been  compelled  to  look  with  respect  upon 
him  and  the  Republic  of  the  West,  of  which  he  was  a  cit- 
izen and  representative.  When  in  1863  Prince  William 
George  of  Denmark  was  called  to  the  throne  of  Greece, 
Dr.  King  found  his  influence  and  his  opportunities  for 
usefulness  yet  further  increased.  King  George  is  a  sin- 
cere Protestant,  and  very  soon  manifested  his  appreciation 
of  and  respect  for  the  character  of  the  old  missionary  hero, 
by  inviting  him  to  the  palace  that  he  might  receive  the 
communion  at  his  hands.  This  act  of  royal  justice  as 
well  as  kindness  at  once  turned  the  tide  of  popular  feel- 
ing. The  last  vestiges  of  public  hostility  disappeared,  and 
Dr.  King  became,  not  indeed  a  popular  man,  but  a  man 
universally  respected  for  his  honesty  and  his  irreproach- 
able character. 

From  this  time  until  his  death,  in  May,  1869,  I^i"-  King 

13* 


29B  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

lived  in  quiet  usefulness  at  Athens,  enjoying  a  peaceful 
and  happy  evening  to  the  long  and  stormy  day  of  his 
missionary  life.  His  last  days  were  spent  in  active  and 
generous  labors  for  the  relief  and  assistance  of  the  sixty 
thousand  Cretan  refugees,  whose  pitiable  condition  ap- 
pealed so  strongly  to  the  Christian  world  during  the  un- 
fortunate insurrection  in  their  native  island.  A  very 
pleasing  scene  which  occurred  during  the  last  year  of 
the  grand  old  missionary's  life  is  thus  described  by  Mr. 
Tuckerman  :  "  One  evening  I  was  informed  that  a  pro- 
cession of  Cretan  children,  refugees  from  their  unhappy 
island,  had  called  to  pay  their  respects  to  the  American 
minister.  They  numbered  about  nine  hundred,  and  had 
been  brought  by  their  teachers,  missionaries  of  the  Ame- 
rican Board,  and  were  ranged  in  line,  up  and  down  the 
street,  before  the  legation.  They  were  all  of  tender  years, 
and  were  neatly  dressed.  A  large  crowd  had  collected 
at  the  unwonted  spectacle,  which  was  altogether  quite 
touching.  There  they  were,  the  helpless  children  of  poor 
and  suffering  mothers,  who  had  been  cast  upon  the  shores 
of  Greece  to  find  that  subsistence  which  was  denied  to 
them  at  home,  where  their  fathers  and  elder  brothers  were 
sustaining  all  the  hardships  of  a  struggle  which,  in  the 
face  of  tremendous  odds,  they  still  hoped  might  terminate 
in  the  independence  of  an  island  which  is  theirs  by  right 
of  nationality,  language,  religion,  and  numbers.  To  our 
countrymen  at  home  they  were  indebted  for  the  very 
clothes  on  their  backs,  and  for  the  food  which  from  day 
to  day  kept  the  feeble  life  within  them,  while  to  the  dis- 
interested labors  of  our  missionaries  at  Athens  they 
owed  a  moral  and  intellectual  salvation  from  something 


MRS.  HILL.  299 

worse  than  death  itself.  After  singing  two  or  three 
hymns,  they  saluted  the  minister  with  cheers,  which  forced 
him  to  address  them  with  a  few  sympathetic  and  encour- 
aging words,  the  venerable  Dr.  King  acting  as  interpreter. 
.  .  .  Then,  with  more  singing,  and  more  *  zetos,' 
the  assembly  quietly  dispersed."  ^ 

One  of  the  most  pleasing  signs  of  progress  in  Greece 
during  the  past  thirty  years  has  been  the  advancement 
in  female  education.  A  fifth  part  of  the  pupils  in  the 
public  schools  of  the  kingdom  are  now  girls,  while  private 
schools  of  a  high  order  for  the  training  of  young  women 
have  not  been  wanting,  and  have  been  liberally  sus- 
tained. One  of  the  most  useful  and  most  fruitful  mission- 
ary enterprises  in  Greece  has  been  the  large  boarding- 
school  for  girls  at  Athens,  conducted  for  nearly  forty 
years  by  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Hill,  missionaries  of  the  American 
Episcopal  Board.  Many  hundreds  of  girls  have  graduated 
at  this  school  with  a  moral  and  intellectual  training  never 
before  enjoyed  by  the  women  of  Greece.^ 

We  thus  see  that  in  the  political,  commercial,  educa- 

^  The  Greeks  of  To-day,  22-3. 

2  This  school  has  been  the  subject  of  much  and  very  sharp  controversy 
in  this  country,  it  being  alleged  by  many  that  its  conductors  have  not  only 
acquiesced  in,  but  actually  taught  the  errors  of  the  Greek  Church.  It  seems 
plain  that  the  school  was  not  properly  a  Protestant  school.  Its  conductors 
complied  with  all  the  requirements  of  the  Greek  ecclesiastical  authorities, 
and  the  Greek  catechism  was  taught  in  it,  at  least  a  portion  of  the  time,  by  a 
Greek  priest.  But  Mrs.  Hill,  although  holding  apparently  very  High 
Church  views,  seems  to  have  been  a  person  of  sincere  and  earnest  piety, 
and  the  influence  which  she  and  her  husband  have  exerted  in  elevating  and 
ennobHng  the  women  of  Greece,  has  unquestionably  been  very  great.  See 
an  able  and  thorough,  though  somewhat  narrow  and  partial  examination  of 
this  subject,  in  a  pamphlet  by  Dr.  C.  W.  Andrews  of  Virginia,  entitled 
"  Historic  Notes  of  Protestant  Missions  to  the  Oriental  Churches." 


300  THE  MODERN  GREEKS, 

tlonal,  social,  and  religious  interests  of  the  kingdom,  there 
has  been  steady  progress  in  the  past,  and  that  there  is 
the  promise  of  greater  and  more  rapid  advancement  in 
the  future. 

But  the  life  of  human  society,  like  the  life  of  a  tree,  is 
drawn  from  the  ground.  Agriculture,  the  tilling  of  the 
soil,  is  and  must  be  ultimately  the  source  and  ground  of 
all  national  prosperity  and  wealth.  With  a  few  rare  ex- 
ceptions, if  the  agriculture  of  a  country  does  not  prosper, 
the  country  itself  must  remain  poor  and  feeble,  like  a  young 
infant  trying  in  vain  to  draw  the  nourishment  it  needs  from 
the  shrunken  fountains  of  its  mother's  breasts.  Of  this 
truth,  unfortunately,  the  present  state  of  things  in  Greece 
is  a  very  forcible  illustration.  Almost  alone  of  all  the  great 
interests  of  society,  the  agriculture  of  the  kingdom  has 
not  prospered,  has  remained  steadily  at  the  very  lowest 
point  of  depression  and  poverty.  Half  the  arable  soil 
of  the  Kingdom  Hes  untilled,  and  the  agricultural  peas- 
antry, living  content  in  a  thriftless  poverty,  which  in  this 
land  of  comfort  we  can  hardly  imagine,  attempt  no  more 
than  to  raise  just  enough  to  pay  their  taxes  and  provide 
themselves  with  food  and  clothing  from  year  to  year. 

This  profound  depression  of  the  agricultural  interest, 
in  which  is  included  the  large  majority  of  the  population, 
has  entailed  a  state  of  poverty  and  weakness  upon  the 
whole  kingdom.  Domestic  commerce  is  starved  for 
want  of  sustenance ;  except  from  foreign  trade  there 
is  little  accumulation  of  capital ;  the  poverty-stricken 
country  districts  afford  few  openings  for  either  business 
or  professional  success,  and  the  great  multitude  of  edu- 
cated and  enterprising  young  men  who  are  every  year 


AGRICULTURE.  JOI 

coming  forward  are  almost  compelled  to  devote  them- 
selves to  political  life,  and  to  become  mere  hangers  on 
upon  the  government  It  has  been  the  fashion  in  many 
quarters  to  charge  this  ruinous  prostration  of  the  agri- 
cultural interests  of  Greece  upon  the  idle  and  frivolous 
character  of  the  Greek  people — as  if  the  Greek,  ashamed 
of  honest  labor,  and  leaving  it  as  far  as  possible  to  ser- 
vants and  women,  cared  for  nothing  but  to  intrigue  for 
some  petty  office,  and  to  spend  his  time  gossiping  and 
wrangling  in  the  market-place  of  his  miserable  village. 

Never,  surely,  was  charge  more  unjust  or  more  un- 
kind than  this.  After  four  centuries  of  patient,  plodding 
industry  the  Greek  peasant  has  not  suddenly  changed 
his  nature ;  the  thriftless  poverty  in  which  he  is  too  often 
content  to  live  is  not  owing  to  inherent  indolence  and 
contempt  for  honest  toil.  Human  nature  is  very  much 
the  same  everywhere,  and  it  may  well  be  doubted 
whether  the  people  eve?  existed,  at  least  in  a  temperate 
climate,  who  were  not  ready  enough  to  work,  provided 
they  were  sure  of  adequate  returns  for  their  labor. 
It  was  said  that  the  negroes  of  the  West  Indies  were  an 
idle  and  thriftless  race,  who  would  not  work  unless  driven 
by  the  lash  to  their  hated  task.  A  thirty  years'  expe- 
rience of  freedom  has  shown  the  utter  falsity  of  this 
charge,  and  that  with  a  fair  field  and  a  sure  and  reason- 
able compensation,  the  negro  becomes  an  industrious 
man.  The  Irish  are  very  idle  and  improvident  in  their 
own  country,  but  no  sooner  have  they  been  transported 
to  our  soil  than  their  character  tmdergoes  a  sudden 
transformation,  and  they  appear  among  the  most  frugal 
and  diligent  of  men.      The  Greeks  are  no  exception  to 


y»  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

this  rule ;  and  if  their  industry  presented  a  ready  means 
for  the  securing  of  comfort,  abundance,  and  wealth,  they 
would  not  remain,  as  they  now  do,  contented  with  a 
wretched  and  squalid  poverty. 

We  might  be  sure  beforehand  that  there  is  some  rea- 
son for  their  thriftless  indolence  in  the  peculiar  circum- 
stances of  their  condition.  A  very  brief  examination  of 
those  circumstances  will  show  us  that  there  is  such  a 
reason,  and  one  more  than  sufficient  to  account  for  the 
facts  we  are  considering.  The  Bulgarians  would  prob- 
ably work  when  the  Greeks  stand  idle ;  but  the  truth  is, 
that  very  few  races  now  exist,  or  ever  have  existed,  who 
in  their  circumstances  would  be  more  industrious  than 
they  are.  They  have  no  inducement  to  labor.  Even  if 
by  hard  work  they  have  raised  an  abundant  crop,  that 
crop  brings  them  not  wealth  and  comfort,  but  only  vexa- 
tion and  trouble.  It  would  cost  them  all  that  it  is  worth 
to  get  it  to  market ;  for  there  arc  no  roads,  and  it  must 
be  transported  by  wretched  tracks  over  mountains  and 
through  valleys  upon  the  backs  of  horses,  mules,  or  serv- 
ants, and  everything  obtained  in  exchange  for  it  must  be 
brought  back  in  the  same  way. 

But  this  is  not  all  nor  the  worst.  More  unendurable 
even  than  the  state  of  the  roads  is  the  tyranny  of  the  tax- 
gatherer.  ^  All  the  produce  in  the  country  must  pay  a  tithe 
to  the  government  And  as  two- thirds  or  more  of  the  soil 
belongs  to  the  state,  the  greater  part  of  the  farmers  must 
add  to  this  about  another  tenth  and  a  half  for  rent,  mak- 
ing in  all  about  one-quarter  of  the  produce.      The  amount 

*  Senior's  Journal,  pp.  176-7;  Edinburgh  Review  for.  April,  1865, 
p.  301. 


THE  TAX-GATHERER,  303 

of  this  exaction  is  not  so  grievous  as  the  mode  of  its  col- 
lection. As  the  peasants  have  no  money,  the  tax  must 
be  paid  in  kind.  And  lest  the  government  be  defrauded, 
no  crop  can  be  cut  until  the  collector's  license  has  been 
obtained.  If  he  is  disposed  to  make  trouble,  he  has 
every  opportunity  to  do  so.  Sometimes  he  will  require 
the  crop  to  be  cut  before  it  is  ripe.  Sometimes  he  with- 
holds his  license  until  it  is  over-ripe  and  half  ruined. 
Then  all  the  grain  for  miles  around  must  be  carried  over 
the  mountains  to  the  collector's  public  threshing-floor, 
where  it  lies,  perhaps  for  months,  until  he  gets  ready  to 
thresh  it;  and  if  he  chooses  to  be  extortionate  in  his 
tithing,  the  poor  peasant  has  generally  no  redress. 
When  the  grain  has  been  threshed,  a  large  stamp  is  im- 
pressed upon  every  part  of  the  pile,  so  that  it  cannot  be 
disturbed  without  leaving  indications  of  the  fact,  and  then 
the  farmer  must  watch  it  night  and  day,  or  leave  it  at  his 
own  risk,  until  the  tithe  has  been  taken. 

Under  such  circumstances,  what  wonder  if  the  poor 
farmer  considers  the  least  excess  in  his  crop  over  the 
absolute  wants  of  his  family  to  be  an  evil  and  not  a  bless- 
ing. The  larger  the  crop  the  greater  the  trouble  and 
worry,  with  no  hope  of  proportionate  gain  in  the  end. 
Considering  these  facts,  we  may  well  inquire  whether  the 
people  has  ever  existed,  who,  situated  as  the  Greeks  now 
are,  would  not  be  as  poor,  as  thriftless,  and  as  indolent 
as  they  are.  Some  more  satisfactory  compensation  than 
vexation  and  trouble  has  been  usually  needed  to  incite 
men  to  patient  and  cheerful  industry.  With  these  facts 
before  us,  we  m^y  confidently  infer  that  Greece  only 
needs  a  few  years  of  honest,  energetic,  common-sense 


14 


yn  THE  MODERN  GREEKS. 

government  to  launch  her  upon  a  career  of  prosperity 

such  as  she  has  not  yet  known. 

The  one  grand  necessity  of  the  country  is  roadSy  ave- 
nues of  communication,  by  which  the  farmers  can  get 
their  produce  to  the  sea,  and  thus  to  the  markets  of  the 
world.  The  British  government  has  given  comparative 
wealth  to  the  Ionian  Islands,  by  the  simple  expedient  of 
granting  aid  to  the  peasants  in  building  roads  for  them- 
selves. In  May,  1858,  Sir  John  Young  wrote  home :  "  It 
is  quite  surprising  the  amotint  of  work  I  got  done  in  this 
way,  by  small  grants  in  aid.  The  villagers  were  willing 
to  give,  and  actually  gave,  scrftje  thousands  of  days  of 
gratuitous  labor  in  order  to  complete  branch  roads  from 
the  main  lines  to  their  villages  and  enable  carts  to  pass ; 
for  they  know  that  a  man  with  a  cart  and  horse,  when 
there  is  a  practicable  communication,  can  support  a  fam- 
ily, while  a  man  with  a  horse,  obliged  to  use  paniers  only, 
can  scarcely  pay  his  expenses.  It  is  a  giatifying  fact  that 
the  number  of  carts  on  the  Island  of  Corfu  has  well-nigh 
doubled  in  the  last  four  or  five  years."  ^ 

The  same  results  would  follow  upon  the  mainland. 
Once  make  it  possible  for  the  Greeks  to  get  th^-ir  produce 
to  market  on  wheels,  and  thus  give  them  the  ability  to 
commute  their  present  ruinous  exactions  for  a  reasonable 
money  tax,  and  we  should  soon  hear  no  more  of  their  in- 
dolence, or  of  their  thriftless,  contented  poverty.  With 
roads  and  a  ready  access  to  the  markets  of  the  world,  would 
come  deliverance  from  the  tyranny  of  the  tax-gatherer; 
for  it  would  then  be  for  the  interest  of  government  and 
producer  alike,  that  the  taxes  should  be  paid  in  money. 
*  Edinburgh  Review  for  April,  1863,  p.  302. 


THE  GREEKS  AS  A  NATION,  30I 

And  with  the  possibility  of  making  money  and  gaining 
wealth  by  his  calling,  the  peasant  would  soon  desire  to 
buy  the  farm  he  now  rents  of  the  government,  as  the 
law  now  allows  him  to  do  on  easy  terms,^  and  to  own 
the  land  he  tills.  Roads  are  the  one  thing  needful  for 
Greece  ;  ^  the  one  thing  which  would  at  once  give  pros- 
perity and  vigor  to  her  agriculture,  bring  her  waste  lands 
under  cultivation,  double  her  country  population,  and 
redeem  the  whole  Kingdom  from  its  present  poverty  and 
weakness. 

The  Greeks  of  the  Turkish  provinces,  although  they 
have  kept  pace  with  their  brethren  of  free  Greece  in 
material*  prosperity,  have  fallen  far  behind  them  in  moral 
and  social  advancement.  They  live  under  all  the  demoral- 
izing influences  of  Turkish  rule,  and  are  still  very  much 
what  their  fathers  were  two  generations  ago.  The  Greek 
in  Turkey  does  ihe  work  and  receives  the  money.  He 
vitalizes  the  sluggish  mass  around  him,  but  is  quite  as 
unscrupulous  as  his  masters.  How  can  it  be  otherwise, 
when  he  possesses  all  the  characteristics  of  a  conquered 
race.  "  At  sight  of  a  Mussulman,"  says  an  intelligent 
observer,  **  the  rayah's  back  bends  to  the  ground,  his 
hands  involuntarily  join  on  his  breast,  his  lips  compose 
themselves  to  a  smile ;  but  under  this  conventional  mask 
you  see  the  hatred  instilled  even  into  women  and  children 
toward  their  ancient  oppressors."  ^  The  moral  and  social 
emancipation  which  the  Revolution  brought  to  the  inhab- 

^  Tuckennan,   164. 

*  Leake's    "Greece  after  Twenty-three  Years  of  Protection,**  p.  17; 
Tuckerman,  158. 
'  Tuckerman,  121. 


306  THE  MODERN"  GREEKS, 

itants  of  Greece  was  a  greater  deliverance  than  the 
breaking  of  their  political  yoke.  By  their  half  century 
of  freedom,  the  Greeks  of  free  Greece  have  been  pre- 
pared to  take  the  lead  in  a  wider  and  grander  national 
development  than  that  now  going  on  within  the  narrow 
limits  of  their  Httle  Kingdom.  The  Greeks  are  one  peo- 
ple— one  in  national  character,  one  in  feeling  and  sym- 
pathies, and  one  in  their  patriotic  aspirations.  Crete, 
Samos,  Thessaly,  and  Macedonia  are  but  parts  of  their 
common  inheritance,  withheld  from  them  as  yet  by 
arbitrary  power,  but  sure  whenever  that  grasp  is  re- 
laxed, to  join  themselves  to  Greece,  and  so  in  due  time 
to  expand  the  Kingdom  into  a  large,  prosperous,  and 
opulent  state. 


PART   THIRD. 


THE  TURKISH    SLAVONIANS,   THE   WALLA- 
CHIANS,  AND  THE  GYPSIES. 

The  leading  Authorities  followed  are : 

The  Histories  of  oibbon  and  Finlay. 

"  Historical  View  of  the  Languages  and  Literature  of  the  Slavic  Na- 
tions," by  Talvi  (Mrs  E.  Robinson). 

Ranke's  History  of  Servia,  the  Servian  Revolution,  and  Bosnia,  with  the 
Treatise  of  Cyprien  Robert  on  "The  Slave  Provinces  of  Turkey;" 
Bohn's  Standard  Library. 

Upham's  History  of  the  Ottoman  Empire. 

"Dalmatia  and  Montenegro;  with  a  Journey  to  Mostar  in  Herzegovina, 
and  Remarks  on  the  Slavonic  Nations ;  the  History  of  Dalmatia  and 
Ragusa;  the  Uscocs;"  &c.,  &c.,  by  Sir  J.  Gardner  Wilkinson,  F.R.S. 

Brace's  "  Races  of  the  Old  World." 

"Travels  in 'the  Slavonic  Provinces  of  Turkey  in  Europe,"  by  Lady 
Muir  Mackenzie,  and  Miss  Irby. 

"Servia  and  the  Servians,"  and  "Serbian  Folk-Lore,"  by  Rev.  W. 
Denton,  M.A. 

"The  Eastern  Shores  of  the  Adriatic  in  1863,"  by  Vicountess  Strang- 
ford. 

"The  Slavonic  Provinces  South  of  the  Danube,"  by  William  Forsyth, 
LL.D.,  London,  1876. 

"  Servian  Popular  Poetry,"  translated  by  Sir  John  Bowring. 

Owen  Meredith's  "  Serbski  Pesme,  or  National  Songs  of  Servia." 

Special  Eastern  Correspondence  of  the  London  Times,  in  the  years 
1875  and  1876. 

Articles  on  "Montenegro,"  Edinburgh  Review,  April,  1859;  "Servia," 
London  Quarterly  Review,  January,  1865 ;  "  The  True  Eastern 
Question,"  Littell's  Living  Age,  January  8th  and  February  12th, 
1876;  "The  Herzegovinian  Question,"  International  Review,  Jan- 
uary, 1876. 


CHAPTER  I. 


THE   SLAVIC   RACE. 

Of  the  widespread  Japhetic,  Indo-European  or  Ar- 
yan race,  the  various  families  of  which  have  extended 
their  conquests  and  their  settlements  from  the  Ganges 
on  the  East  to  the  shores  of  the  Pacific  on  the  West, 
the  Teutonic  or  German  branch  has  now  for  five  cen- 
turies held  the  foremost  place  in  civilization,  wealth,  and 
power.  But  at  the  present  time  another  family  of  the 
same  imperial  race  is  rising  rapidly  to  a  position  second 
only  to  that  of  its  Teutonic  neighbors.  It  may  well  be 
doubted  whether,  in  the  course  of  another  hundred 
years,  the  Slave  will  not  fully  equal  the  Teuton,  not 
only  in  military  and  political  power,  but  in  social  and 
intellectual  culture,  in  all  the  highest  developments  of  a 
Christian  civilization. 

In  point  of  numbers  the  Slavic  race  is  hardly  inferior 
to  the  Teutonic.  Its  several  families — the  Russians, 
Poles,  Bohemians,  and  Moravians,  the  Slovaks  of  Hun- 
gary (in  distinction  from  the  Magyars,  who  are  a  Scythic 
or  Turanian  people  akin  to  the  Turks),  the  Croats,  Ser- 
vians, and  Bulgarians — have  for  a  thousand  years  occupied 
little  less  than  the  eastern  half  of  the  continent  of  Eu- 
rope. 


310  THE  SLA  VIC  RACE, 

The  several  peoples  of  this  race  are  separated  by  a 
two-fold  division.  The  first  and  most  ancient  division  is 
into  Eastern  and  Western.^  The  Russians,  Bulgarians, 
and  Servians  received  Christianity  from  the  East,  and 
became  associated,  both  politically  and  ecclesiastically, 
with  Constantinople.  The  Western  tribes  received  their 
faith  from  Rome,  and  connected  themselves  politically 
with  the  German  Empire.  Except  in  the  case  of  the 
Dalmatians  and  Austrian  Croats,  this  separating  line  still 
exists  with  undiminished  clearness. 

But  during  the  past  century  another  division  has  de- 
veloped itself  which  may  be  destined  in  the  future  to 
prove  yet  more  important.  While  the  Northern  Slavonic 
nations  have  been  slowly  forming  their  national  character 
and  advancing  in  civilization  under  the  despotic  govern- 
ments of  Russia  and  Austria,  the  kindred  tribes  of  the 
South,  including  the  Bulgarians  and  Servians  of  Turkey, 
the  independent  Montenegrins,  and  the  inhabitants  of 
Dalmatia,  Croatia,  and  Slavonia,  the  three  south-western 
provinces  of  Austria,  have  begun  to  display  a  common 
and  intense  national  spirit.  Almost  everything  in  their 
circumstances  and  mutual  relations  tends  strongly  to  this 
result.  Geographical  position,  similarity  of  blood  and 
language,  the  glorious  memories  of  their  early  history,  and 
the  fact  that  they  all  stand  upon  the  same  social  level, 
and  are  inspired  by  the  same  feelings,  sympathies,  and 
aspirations — ^the  result  of  ages  of  common  and  bitter 
oppression — all  these  things  tend  strongly  to  draw  and 
bind  them  together,  and  to  impel  them  onwards  to  acom^ 
mon  destiny. 

*Talvi,p.6}  Jiracc,  iia. 


TURKISH  SLA  VOmANS,  311 

As  a  convenient  designation,  these  tribes  may  be  call- 
ed the  Southern  Slavonians.  In  distinction  from  their 
Northern  brethren,  they  are  characterized  by  an  intensely 
democratic  spirit.^  Turkish  despotism  has  wrought  at 
least  this  beneficial  result.  It  has  placed  the  despised 
rayahs  all  upon  the  same  level,  and  made  every  man 
among  them  the  equal  of  every  other ;  so  that  as  they  rise 
they  all  rise  together.  It  may  be  that  there  is  a  deep 
purpose  of  the  Divine  Providence  in  thus  developing  these 
two  opposite  political  tendencies  side  by  side  in  kindred 
tribes  of  the  same  race ;  and  that  while  the  Russians  of  the 
North  are  displaying  the  grandest  experiment  which 
modern  times  have  seen  of  centralized  despotic  power, 
the  Servians  of  the  South  may  be  destined  to  show  to  the 
world  a  new  and  surprising  example  of  the  measureless 
energy  of  free  institutions  in  promoting  the  progress  of 
society  and  the  well-being  of  mankind. 

The  primitive  Slavonians,*  although  squalid  and  sav- 
age barbarians,  exceedingly  cruel,  and  always  ready  to 
ravage  the  territories  of  weaker  neighbors,  were  in  many 
respects  a  most  interesting  people,  and  one  of  the  noblest 

^  That  the  Austrian  Croats,  who  have  never  been  subject  to  Turkish 
power,  who  have  for  centuries  been  separated  from  their  Servian  kindred 
by  their  Roman  Catholic  faith  and  their  partially  Latinized  language,  should 
show  so  strong  a  tendency  to  unite  with  the  Slaves  of  Turkey,  who  are 
mostly  of  the  Greek  Church,  is  somewhat  surprising.  The  fact  is  to  be 
accounted  for  by  the  strong  sympathies  of  race,  and  similarity  of  social  po- 
sition. For,  while  the  Croats  have  never  been  subject  to  Turkish  power, 
their  troubled  and  dangerous  situation  in  the  border  land  between  Islam 
and  Christianity  has  been  a  great  hindrance  to  their  progress  in  civilization ; 
and  they  now  find  themselves  upon  very  nearly  the  same  social  level,  and 
in  nearly  the  same  circumstances  generally,  with  their  Servian  brethren. 

*  Gibbon,  iv.  196 ;  Finlay's  Greece  under  the  Romans,  p.  310. 


312  THE  SLA  VIC  RACE, 

of  the  Japhetic  races.  They  were  wholly  unlike  the  Ger- 
mans, having  neither  their  lofty  stature,  their  military 
ardor  and  invincible  valor,  nor  their  aptitude  for  political 
organization.  They  were  rather  quiet  and  unmilitary  in 
their  habits,  inclined  to  agriculture  and  commerce.  In 
the  early  centuries  of  the  Middle  Ages  they  built  Kief  on 
the  Dnieper,  Novgorod  on  the  Volkof,  Vineta  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Oder,  and  Arcona  on  the  Island  of  Rugen, 
and  conducted  a  large  and  important  traffic  between  the 
Black  and  Baltic  seas.^  As  such  characteristics  would 
lead  us  to  expect,  they  were  more  industrious,  thrifty, 
and  wealthy  than  the  other  races  about  them.  Not  be- 
ing very  warlike,  they  were  easily  subdued  by  other 
tribes,  and  were  tyrannized  over  by  Goths,  Avars,  Huns, 
and  Tartars,  until  at  last,  having  acquired  strength  and 
order  from  the  slow  progress  of  civilization,  they  passed 
from  subjects  to  masters,  and  two  great  Empires,  the.  Rus- 
sian in  the  North  and  the  Servian  in  the  South,  rose  to 
a  prominent  place  among  the  semi-barbarous  powers  of 
Europe  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

But  while  the  early  Slavonians  were  not  a  very  war- 
like race,  in  devotion  to  the  great  idea  of  personal  free- 
dom they  surpassed  the  Germans  themselves.  "  The 
Slavonian  disdained  to  obey  a  despot,  a  prince,  or  even 
a  magistrate ;  .  .  .  but  each  tribe  or  village  existed 
as  a  separate  republic,  and  all  must  be  persuaded  where 
none  could  be  compelled."  ^  The  same  simple  communal 
organization  of  society,  which  still  prevails  in  Russia,  and 
in  a  modified  form  among  the  Southern  Slaves  also,  exist- 
ed among  their  rude  progenitors  from  the  earliest  times. 
>  Wilkinson,  ii.  14.  *  Gibbon,  iv.  197. 


SLA  VIC  POETRY.  313 

Their  most  remarkable  quality,  however,  was  a  patient, 
much-enduring  toughness  of  character,  which  enabled 
them  to  hold  their  ground  indestructibly,  while  one  mur- 
derous wave  after  another  of  Gothic  or  Scythian  invasion 
passed  over  them,  so  that  they  remain  to-day  strong, 
flourishing,  and  predominant  in  the  very  seats  which  their 
fathers  occupied  at  the  dawn  of  authentic  history. 

As  a  race,  the  Slavic  peoples  have  always  been  marked 
by  the  same  general  characteristics.  They  are  grave, 
serious,  and  sincere;  quiet,  peaceable,  industrious,  and 
frugal ;  very  earnest,  reverent,  and  devout ;  very  docile, 
tractable,  and  loyal.  As  soldiers,  while  they  lack  the 
fiery  valor  of  the  Gaul  and  the  invincible  courage  of  the 
German,  they  have  always  displayed  a  steadfast  patience, 
fortitude,  and  fidelity  to  their  national  cause,  which  in  the 
critical  emergencies  of  their  history  have  made  them  no 
less  heroic  and  no  less  successful  than  the  more  brilliant 
peoples  of  the  West. 

In  all  its  branches  and  tribes,  the  Slavic  race  has  al- 
ways been  among  the  most  poetical,  the  most  song-lov* 
ing  of  mankind.^  Long  before  it  had  been  reduced  to 
writing,  in  the  far  distant  ages  of  an  unknown  past,  the 
Slavic  language,  like  the  Greek  and  the  Arabic,  had  be- 
come, as  it  remains  to  the  present  day  in  almost  all  its 
various  dialects,  the  vehicle  of  an  immense  body  of  un- 
written poetry;  and  through  that  poetry  it  had  been 
carried  to  a  high  degree  of  richness  and  literary  culture. 
Popular  poetry  is  still  the  spontaneous,  the  constant  and 
abundant  product  of  the  Slavonic  mind.  "  The  general 
prevalence  of  a  musical  ear  and  taste  among  all  Slavic 
»  Talvi,  318. 


$14  THE  SLA  VIC  RACE. 

nations  is  indeed  striking."  **  Where  a  Slavic  woman  is," 
says  Schaffarik,  "there  is  also  song.  House  and  yard, 
mountain  and  valley,  meadow  and  forest,  garden  and 
vineyard,  she  fills  them  all  with  the  sound  of  her  voice. 
Often,  after  a  wearisome  day,  spent  in  heat  and  sweat, 
hunger  and  thirst,  she  animates,  on  her  way  home,  the 
silence  of  the  evening  twilight  with  her  melodious  songs. 
What  spirit  these  popular  songs  breathe,  the  reader  may 
learn  from  the  collections  already  published.  Without 
encountering  contradiction,  we  may  say  that  among  no 
other  nation  of  Europe  does  natural  poetry  exist  to  such 
an  extent,  and  in  such  purity,  heartiness,  and  warmth  of 
feeling  as  among  the  Slavi."^ 

An  immense  number  of  epic  and  heroic  poems,  to  which 
new  pieces  have  been  constantly  added,  are  continually 
sung  by  the  winter  hearth  and  the  festal  table  of  the  Ser- 
vians, among  whom,  and  among  them  alone,  the  Homeric 
age  has  been  continued  to  the  present  day.  **  Indeed,  what 
epic  popular  poetry  is,  how  it  is  produced  and  propagated, 
what  powers  of  invention  it  naturally  exhibits — powers 
which  no  art  can  command — we  may  learn  from  this 
multitude  of  simple  legends  and  complicated  fables.  The 
Servians  stand  in  this  respect  quite  isolated ;  there  is  no 
modern  nation  that  can  be  compared  to  them  in  epic  pro- 
ductiveness ;  and  a  new  light  seems  to  be  thrown  over 
the  grand  compositions  of  the  ancients."^ 

The  Slaves  are  evidently  one  of  the  latest  offshoots 
from  the  great  Aryan  stock.  Their  geographical  and 
chronological  relations  to  the  other  races  of  Europe  can 

»  Talvi,  318-19.  •  Id.,  374. 


ARRIVAL  IN  EUROPE.  ys 

be  made  plain  in  a  few  words. ^  The  aboriginal  inhabit- 
ants of  Europe  were  a  Finnic  or  Scythian  race,  akin  to 
the  Tartars  of  the  North  of  Asia.  Relics  of  this  early 
population,  as  is  known  from  their  language,  still  exist  in 
the  Finns  and  Lapps  of  the  North  of  Europe,  and  the 
Basques  of  the  North  of  Spain.  Then  came  the  first  wave 
of  Japhetic  or  Aryan  immigration  in  the  once  mighty  race 
to  the  Celts  (or  Kelts),  the  fathers  of  the  ancient  Gauls, 
Britons,  Scots,  and  Hibernians.^ 

Following  this,  though  after  what  interval  of  time  no 
one  can  say,  came  two  great  movements  of  other  fam- 
ilies of  the  same  race.  The  German  tribes  passed  into 
Europe  to  the  north  of  the  Black  Sea,  while  another  mi- 
gration, from  which  sprung  the  Lydians,  Phrygians,  Thra- 
cians,  Macedonians,  Greeks,  and  Romans,  settled  the  west- 
ern regions  of  Asia  Minor,  and  passed  on  into  the  South 
of  Europe.  In  the  wake  of  the  German  tribes  came  the 
Slavonians,  who  were  settled  upon  the  vast  plains  of  Eu- 
ropean Russia  long  before  the  Christian  era.  From 
these  their  primitive  seats  they  gradually  moved  west- 
ward, until  they  had  occupied  the  territory  which  their 
descendants  still  retain. 

At  what  time  the  Slaves  began  to  infiltrate  themselves 
into  the  Roman  Empire  it  is  difficult  to  say.  It  is  pro- 
bable, however,  that  it  was  as  early  as  the  third  or  fourth 

^  Brace's  Ethnology,  78-122.  See  also  Max  Miiller's  Lectures  on  the 
Science  of  Language  ;  and  Languages  of  the  Seat  of  War. 

*  Unless  the  Pelasgic  or  lUyrian  race  was  an  earlier  offshoot  from  the 
Japhetic  stock,  and  the  first  to  find  its  way  into  Europe.  Italy  seems  to 
have  been  occupied  by  Pelasgic  tribes  of  Japhetic  blood  before  the  arrival 
of  the  Celts. — Brace,  p.  93.  See  also  the  views  of  Max  Muller  and  Prof. 
Pott,  cited  in  Prrt  Second,  chap.  v.  of  this  volume. 


316  THE  SLA  VIC  RA  CE, 

century  of  our  era  that  they  began  to  be  numerous  in 
Moesia,  Thrace,  and  Macedonia,  as  a  class  of  hardy, 
industrious  shepherds  and  laborers,  very  much  as  the 
Bulgarians  now  are  in  the  neighborhood  of  Constantino- 
ple, on  both  sides  of  the  Bosphorus,  or  as  the  Irish  are 
among  ourselves.  By  the  sixth  century,  they  had  evi- 
dently become  an  important  element  of  the  population. 
They  not  only  filled  the  north-western  provinces  as  a 
simple  agricultural  and  pastoral  peasantry,  but  had  begun 
to  rise  to  the  higher  walks  of  civil  and  military  life ;  and 
from  that  time  we  frequently  find  them  in  the  highest 
and  most  commanding  positions  of  the  Empire.  The 
famous  Emperor  Justinian,  who  ascended  the  throne  of 
Constantinople  in  527,  and  became  the  lawgiver,  not  of 
the  Roman  Empire  alone,  but  of  a  great  part  of  the 
Christian  world  from  that  day  to  this,  was  a  Slave,  as 
appears  from  his  native  name,  Upravda,  of  which  Justi- 
nian is  a  Latin  imitation.^ 

As  the  Empire  declined,  and  wide  districts  began  to 
be  left  uninhabited,  this  Slavic  immigration  rapidly  in- 
creased. By  the  year  700,  an  immense  population  of 
rude  Slavonian  peasants  and  shepherds,  many  of  them 
little  better  than  barbarian  robbers,  had  occupied  all  the 


^  Justinian  was  born  at  Tauresium,  near  the  modem  Skopia,  in  north- 
western Macedonia.  I  lis  father's  name  was  Istok,  and  his  mother  and 
sister  were  both  called  Wigleritza.  These  names  seem  to  place  the  Slavo- 
nian descent  of  Justinian  l)eyond  a  question. — Finlay's  Greece  under  the 
Romans,  p.  235. 

See  also  Mackenzie  and  Irby,  p.  134.  This  very  valuable  work  contains 
much  carefully  collected  and  authentic  information  upon  the  early  history 
as  well  as  the  present  condition  of  all  the  Christian  peoples  of  European 
Turkey. 


SLA  VONIANS  IN  GREECE,  317 

more  open  and  unprotected  districts  from  the  Danube 
to  the  Gulf  of  Corinth.  "  They  became  almost  the  sole 
possessors  of  the  territories  once  occupied  by  the  lUy- 
rians  and  the  Thracians.  They  advanced  southward, 
occupying  the  waste  lands ;  but,  as  they  penetrated  into 
the  heart  of  Greece,  they  met  with  more  obstructions 
from  a  denser  population,  especially  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  still  remaining  walled  towns.  In  the  early  part  of 
the  eighth  century,  nearly  the  whole  of  the  Peloponnesus 
was  occupied  by  the  Slavonians.  It  was  then  regarded 
by  pilgrims  from  Europe  as  Slavonic  soil ;  and  the  com- 
plete colonization  of  the  whole  country  of  Greece  and 
the  Peloponnesus  is  dated  by  the  Emperor  Constantine 
Porphyrogenitus  from  the  time  of  the  great  pestilence 
that  depopulated  the  East  in  746.  .  .  .  Such  are 
the  principal  facts  known  in  history  with  regard  to  this 
extraordinary  series  of  events,  by  which  an  old  popula- 
tion was  almost  entirely  displaced  in  the  course  of  two 
centuries  by  swarms  of  another  race  coming  into  the 
country,  partly  as  warriors  and  enemies,  partly  as  agri- 
culturists, herdsmen,  and  shepherds,  to  occupy  the 
lands  left  vacant  by  the  greatly  diminished  numbers  of 
the  Greeks.  .  .  .  When  they  were  once  established, 
they  lived  in  a  rude  and  wild  independence.  They  took 
possession  chiefly  of  the  valleys  and  the  interior  of  the 
provinces.  .  .  .  The  Greeks  themselves  still  held 
the  seacoasts  and  the  large  towns.  .  .  .  The  singu- 
larity of  this  chapter  in  Greek  history  consists  in  the  fact 
that  this  great  body  of  intrusive  settlers  gradually  dis- 
appeared from  the  soil  of  Greece  as  mysteriously  as  they 
came.     Some  had,  of  course,  mingled  with  the  Greeks, 


3l8  TITE  SLAVIC  RACE, 

were  converted  to  Christianity  in  the  course  of  time  by 
the  blending  of  families,  became  Hellenized  in  language, 
manners,  and  blood,  and  were  to  all  intents  and  purposes 
Greeks;  just  as  the  descendants  of  foreign  settlers  in 
England,  mingling  their  blood  with  the  native  race,  lose 
the  original  nationality  of  their  ancestors,  and  become 
Enghshmen."  ^ 

So  steadily  and  so  far  did  this  invading  wave  recede, 
that  after  the  Turkish  conquest  the  several  races  of  the 
European  provinces  were  distributed  much  as  they  are 
now,  and  few  Slavonic  settlements  existed  south  of  Mace- 
donia. The  modern  representatives  of  those  early  Slaves, 
who,  before  the  time  of  Justinian,  had  already  swarmed 
so  numerously  into  the  decaying  provinces  of  the  Empire, 
and  whose  descendants  have  held  their  ground  even  to 
the  present  time,  are  seen,  not  in  the  Servians,  but  in 
the  Bulgarians.  The  Servians  had  another  and  later 
origin,  as  we  shall  presently  see. 

The  vast  region  extending  from  the  Adriatic  to  the 
Danube  had  been  already  ruined  by  incessant  barbarian 
inroads,  when  Justinian  surrendered  it  to  the  Lombards, 
that  in  them  he  might  find  a  barrier  against  the  tribes  of 
the  North.  The  Lombards  had  not  been  long  in  posses- 
sion, when,  becoming  weary  of  the  poverty  and  desola- 
tion which  everywhere  surrounded  them,  about  the  year 
570,  they  migrated  in  a  body  for  a  new  and  permanent 
conquest  in  the  North  of  Italy.  This  was  just  at  the  time 
when  the  formidable  Kingdom  of  the  Avars  was  rising 

1  Felton's  Greece,  Ancient  and  Modern,  ii.,  311-12.  In  the  latter  part 
of  the  ninth  century,  the  Greeks  were  rapidly  recovering  their  ascendency  in 
the  Peloponnesus. — Finlay's  Byzantine  Empire,  i.  303. 


SERVIAN  MIGRATION,  319 

into  power  to  the  north  of  the  Danube.^  It  was  to  repeo- 
ple  the  territory  thus  left  vacant  by  the  Lombards,  and  at 
the  same  time  to  raise  a  firm  barrier  against  the  power 
of  the  Avars,  that  the  Emperor  Heradius,  who  reigned 
from  610  to  641,  invited  the  Servians  and  the  Croats  to 
migrate  from  the  neighborhood  of  the  Carpathian  Moun- 
tains, and  seek  a  permanent  home  within  the  Hmits  of  the 
Empire. 

The  invitation  was  accepted,  and  several  tribes  of  these 
Western  Slaves,  a  race  far  more  spirited  and  warlike  th^n 
their  eastern  kindred,  took  up  their  abode  in  the  seats 
which  their  descendants  have  ever  since  retained.  This 
movement  proved  eminently  advantageous  to  the  Empire. 
The  Servians  entered  at  once  into  quiet  possession  of  their 
new  homes,  readily  blending  with  the  considerable  Slavic 
population,  which  had  before  occupied  the  country,  as 
the  oppressed  servants  of  the  Lombards,  and  formed  the 
Zupanias  (Zhupanias)  or  Bannats  of  Servia,  Croatia, 
Bosnia,  Rascia,^  and  Dalmatia.  The  chiefs  of  these  small 
barbarian  kingdoms  were  called  Zupans  (Zhupans),  a  title 
to  which  Pan  or  Ban  seems  to  have  been  nearly  equiva- 
lent. The  Voivode  was  a  leader  in  war  and  a  judge  in 
peace ;  the  nobles  were  called  Boyars ;  Kniaz  or  Knez, 
the  proper  title  (with  Gospoda  or  Hospodar)  of  the  pre- 

'  The  Avars  were  a  Tartar  tribe,  driven  from  Asia  by  the  Turks,  whose 
conquests  at  this  time  first  revealed  their  name  and  nation  to  the  world.— 
Gibbon,  iv.  200. 

2  Rascia  was  the  ancient  Dardania,  named  from  the  river  Rashka, 
the  small  stream  on  which  stands  the  modern  Novi  Bazaar.  Novi  Bazaar 
occupies  very  nearly  the  site  of  the  capital  of  Nemanja,  the  founder  of  the 
Servian  Monarchy. — Wilkinson,  ii.  283,  note;  Mackenzie  and  Irby,  p.  315* 
Forsyth,  p.  22. 


320  THE  SLA  VIC  RACE, 

sent  sovereigns  of  Montenegro  and  Servia — was  equiva- 
lent to  Prince,  Krai  to  King,  and  Tzar  to  Emperor.^  These 
Servian  principalities  acknowledged  a  nominal  allegiance 
to  the  Emperors  of  Constantinople,  but  were  from  the 
beginning  essentially  independent,  and  pursued  unre- 
stricted their  own  normal  and  healthful  political  develop- 
ment.^ 

*  Wilkinson,  ii.  25-6;    Mackenzie  and  Irby,  pp.  148-9. 
■  Finlay's  Greece  under  the  Romans,  p.  408. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE     BULGARIANS. 
THE  EARLIER  AND   LATER  BULGARIAN  KINGDOMS. 

As  already  observed, 'the  modern  Bulgarians  represent 
in  the  main  that  great  Eastern  Slavic  population,  which, 
before  the  year  600,  had  become  established  in  the  re- 
gion to  the  south  of  the  Danube.  Their  name  is  derived 
from  a  Finnish  or  Hunnish  tribe,  which  first  subdued 
them,  long  ruled  over  them,  and  finally  became  lost 
among  them.  It  was  very  much  as  if  the  Normans,  after 
the  victory  of  William  the  Conqueror,  had  given  their 
name  to  the  English  nation. 

The  Huns,  Avars,  Turks,  Tartars,  and  Bulgarians  were 
all  kindred  Turanian  or  Scythian  tribes  from  Central 
Asia.  The  Bulgarians  ^  are  said  to  have  been  mentioned 
by  Armenian  writers  as  early  as  six  hundred  years  before 
Christ,  when  they  are  reported  to  have  invaded  Armenia 
from  their  primitive  seats  beyond  the  Caspian.  Some 
centuries  later  a  branch  of  the  nation  moved  westward 
and  settled  upon  the  River  Volga,  which  derived  its  name 
from  them.  About  A.  D.  500,  they  moved  still  further 
westward,  and  subdued  the  Huns  and  Slaves  upon  the 
north-west  shores  of  the  Black  Sea,  and  the  lower  Dan- 

*  Gibbon,  iv.  195;  and  Finlay's  Greece  under  the  Romans,  311-18. 

i4» 


322  THE  TURKISH  SLAVONIANS, 

ube,  thus  coming  into  dangerous  proximity  to  the  Roman 
Empire  and  the  civilized  regions  of  the  South. 

In  the  weakness  and  confusion  which  marked  the  last 
years  of  the  long  reign  (A.  D.  527-565)  of  the  Emperor 
Justinian,  the  mingled  tribes  of  the  Bulgarians,  Huns,  and 
Slaves  became  a  terrible  scourge  to  the  declining  Empire. 
Breaking  across  the  Danube,  these  fierce  enemies  entered 
upon  a  long  career  of  slaughter  and  devastation.  At 
first  the  aged  Belisarius  (himself  as  well  as  his  master 
probably  a  Slave)  took  the  field  against  them,  and  added 
the  crowning  glory  to  his  long  career  by  inflicting  upon 
them  a  serious  defeat.  This  check,  however,  was  but 
momentary,  and  very  soon  the  waves  of  this  fearful  in- 
vasion rolled  almost  unresisted  over  the  devoted  regions 
of  Thrace,  Macedonia,  and  Greece.  Year  by  year  the 
barbarians  returned  to  renew  the  work  of  destruction, 
and  the  Byzantine  historians  bitterly  complain  that  in 
every  inroad  they  robbed  the  Empire  of  two  hundred 
thousand  of  its  people.  Vast  multitudes  of  these  unhappy 
captives  were  put  to  death  with  cruel  tortures,  while  the 
rest  were  carried  into  slavery  or  held  for  ransom.  Before 
many  years,  however,  these  tribes  fell  under  the  yoke  of 
the  Avars,  and  for  a  time  their  destroying  career  was 
checked. 

In  the  year  635,  the  Bulgarians  again  made  them- 
selves free,  and  established  a  widely  extended  dominion, 
reaching  from  the  Carpathian  Mountains  to  the  Sea 
of  Azof  It  was  about  the  year  670  that  Asparuch,  a 
powerful  chief  of  this  Bulgarian  kingdom,  crossed  the 
Danube  at  the  head  of  his  tribe  and  perhaps  an  equal 
number  of  Slavonian  allies  and  subjects,  not  so  much  for 


FIRST  BULGARIAN  KINGDOM,  323 

plunder  as  for  conquest  and  permanent  settlement*  The 
Slavic  inhabitants,  then  almost  the  only  occupants  of 
the  district  between  the  Danube  and  the  Balkan  Moun- 
tains, readily  united  with  the  invaders,  and  Asparuch 
established  his  throne  at  Varna,  upon  the  Black  Sea. 
An  expedition  sent  against  him  by  the  Emperor  Con- 
stantine  Pogonatus  was  totally  defeated ;  the  humiliated 
Emperor  was  compelled  to  pay  tribute  to  the  Bulgarian 
chief,  and  the  whole  of  the  district  now  known  as  the 
province  of  Bulgaria  was  left  quietly  in  his  possession. 
Thus  was  founded  the  first  Bulgarian  kingdom  within 
the  ancient  territory  of  Rome.  Soon  after  the  capital 
was  removed  to  Preslav  (Marcionopolis),  the  ruins  of 
which  may  now  be  found  about  fifteen  miles  south  of  the 
city  of  Shumla. 

For  two  hundred  years  longer  the  Bulgarians  re- 
mained a  pagan  people,  but  in  process  of  time,  familiar 
and  constant  intercourse  with  the  now  reinvigorated 
Byzantine  Empire  began  to  impart  to  them  some  rudi- 
ments of  civilization.  Commerce,  the  great  civiHzer,  was 
beginning  to  bend  them  to  her  potent  sway.  The  passes 
of  the  Balkans  were  the  channels  through  which  flowed 
the  rich  and  extensive  traffic  between  Constantinople 
and  the  vast  regions  of  Central  Europe;  and  of  this 
source  of  wealth  the  Bulgarians  soon  learned  to  avail 
themselves.     This  social  progress  ^  prepared  the  way  for 

^  Finlay's  Greece  under  the  Romans,  p.  485. 

2  Before  their  conversion  to  Christianity,  the  Bulgarians  advanced  in 
the  arts  of  war  far  more  rapidly  than  in  those  of  peace.  The  Bulgarian 
armies  appeared  at  the  very  gates  of  Constantinople  armed  in  complete 
steel,  and  in  possession  of  all  the  military  engines  then  in  use.  In  the  year 
811,  the  Emperor  Nicephorus  I.  was  com)^^letely  defeated  by  them  and 


344  THE  TURKISH  SLAVONIANS 

Christianity ;  and,  strange  as  it  may  appear,  the  frequent 
and  cruel  wars  between  this  barbarian  kingdom  and  the 
Greek  Empire  had  much  to  do  in  conveying  the  first 
knowledge  of  the  gospel  to  the  Bulgarians.  In  every 
war  numerous  captives  were  taken  on  both  sides;  and 
these  captives  of  either  party  proved  efficient  propagators 
of  Christianity  among  the  Bulgarians.  The  Greek  cap- 
tives were  rarely  wanting  in  zeal  for  their  faith ;  and  not 
infrequentiy  Bulgarian  men  and  women,  living  for  years 
in  captivity  among  a  Christian  people,  embraced  Chris- 
tianity, and  returned  to  communicate  their  new  religion 
to  their  brethren  at  homeJ 

Christianity  was  first  actively  preached  in  Bulgaria 
about  the  year  813,  by  a  captive  bishop,  whose  labors 
met  with  little  success,  and  won  him  a  martyr's  crown. 
But  in  the  year  861,  a  sister  of  King  Bogoris,  who  had 
been  detained  at  Constantinople  as  a  captive  or  a  host- 
age, and  had  there  embraced  Christianity,  returned  to  her 
brother's  court  and  set  herself  with  great  earnestness  to 
secure  his  conversion.  At  first  her  efforts  were  vain; 
but,  softened  by  trouble  and  famine,  the  King  began  at 
length  to  listen  more  thoughtfuUy  to  his  sister's  instruc- 
tions, and  even  to  call  for  help  from  the  Christians'  God. 
At  this  time  there  appeared  at  the  Bulgarian  court- 
purposely  sent  for,  according  to  some  accounts,  by  the 
King's  sister — a  monk  named  Methodius,  who  was  a 
skillful  painter.     This  monk  was  employed  by  the  King 

fell  upon  the  field  of  battle,  leaving  his  skull  to  be  made  into  a  drinking 
cup  by  the  Bulgarian  king. — Finlay's  Byzantine  Empire,  i.  124-38. 

*  For  the  conversion  of  the  Bulgarians,  see  Neander,  iii.  307-15 ;  and 
Maclear's  History  of  Christian  Missions  in  the  Middle  Ages,  279-83. 


CONVERSION  OF  THE  BULGARIANS,  32$ 

to  paint  for  him  the  walls  of  a  hunting-lodge ;  but  in- 
stead of  depicting  the  scenes  and  incidents  of  the  chase, 
he  improved  the  opportunity  to  paint  a  vivid  repre- 
sentation of  the  Day  of  Judgment.  The  King  and  his 
attendants  are  said  to  have  been  greatly  impressed  by 
this  painting,  and,  by  earnestly  asking  its  meaning,  to 
hav6  given  the  artist  what  he  desired — an  opportunity  to 
preach  Christ  and  Him  crucified. 

Soon  afterwards  the  King  avowed  himself  a  Christian 
and  was  baptized.  Having  himself  forsaken  the  religion 
of  his  fathers,  he  at  once  proceeded,  and  with  no  little 
violence  and  cruelty,  to  force  his  subjects  to  a  like 
change  in  their  faith;  and  thus  it  was  that  about  the 
year  865  the  Bulgarians  became  nominally  a  Christian 
people.  For  a  time,  however,  their  religious  affairs  re- 
mained in  such  confusion  that  Bogoris  finally  applied  to 
Pope  Nicholas  I.  for  instruction,  and  for  a  definite  state- 
ment of  the  doctrines  of  Christianity.  Nicholas  re- 
sponded by  sending  him  two  bishops  and  an  excellent 
letter  of  counsel  and  instruction.  After  this  the  Bul- 
garians wavered  for  a  time  between  Rome  and  Con- 
stantinople, but  finally  turned  to  the  latter,  and  became, 
as  they  have  ever  since  remained,  attached  to  the  Greek 
communion. 

About  the  year  850,  Cyril  ^  and  Methodius,  two  bro- 
thers of  Thessalonica,  themselves  probably  of  Slavonic 
descent,  entered  upon  their  noble  career  as  the  great 
apostles  of  the  Slavonic  race.  Whether  Methodius, 
the   brother   of  Cyril,  was   the   same  person   with   the 

^  The  baptismal  name  of  Cyril  was  Constantine.  At  Constantinople  he 
was  known  as  Constantine  the  Philosopher. — Neander,  iii.  314. 


326  THE  TURKISH  SLAVONIANS, 

artist  monk  of  the  same  name,  already  spoken  of,  is  not 
sure.  The  Bulgarians  believe  that  they  were  the  same ; 
and  for  this  reason,  in  the  pictures  of  the  two  brothers  in 
the  old  Bulgarian  churches,  St.  Methodius  is  always  re- 
presented with  his  painting  in  his  hand.*  About  the  year 
860,  Cyril  invented  what  has  ever  since  been  known  as 
the  Cyrillic  alphabet,  and  reduced  the  Slavonic  language 
to  writing.^  Soon  afterwards  the  two  brothers  translated 
portions  of  the  Scriptures  into  the  Slavonic  language, 
and,  with  a  liberality  beyond  their  age,  they  everywhere 
conducted  in  this,  the  dialect  of  the  common  people,  all 
the  services  of  public  worship. 

From  that  day  to  this  the  language  of  the  CyriUic 
Scriptures  has  remained  the  sacred  language  of  the  Bul- 
garians, the  Servians,  and  the  Russians.  The  modern 
dialects  have  not  so  far  deviated  from  it  but  that  it  is 
still  easily  understood  by  all  the  famihes  of  the  Slavonic 
race ;  and  of  late  years  the  Southern  Slaves  are  every- 
where reviving  this  grand  old  language  as  their  best  and 
most  vital  bond  of  nationality.  The  names  of  Cyril  and 
Methodius  are  spoken  with  reverence  by  the  whole  Sla- 
vonic race.  In  the  year  1862,  the  thousandth  anniver- 
sary of  these  great  apostles  of  Eastern  Europe  was  cele- 
brated with  a  deep  and  sacred  enthusiasm  "  by  more 
than  eighty  miUions  of  Slavonic  Christians,  without  dis- 


^  Mackenzie  and  Irby,  p.  40. 

2  The  Servians  still  employ  this  alphabet,  while  the  Bulgarians  make  use 
of  the  modified  form  of  the  same  character,  which,  ever  since  the  days  of 
Peter  the  Great,  has  been  in  use  in  Russia.  There  was  an  older  and 
ruder  Slavonic  alphabet,  called  the  Glagolitic.  When  or  by  whom  it  was 
invented,  or  where  it  was  used,  is  not  clear. — Talvi,  p.  37. 


CZA^  SIMEON.  ^1 

tinction  of  sect  or  denomination,  from  Prague  to  the 

Pacific,  and  from  the  Baltic  to  Salonica."* 

After  their  conversion  to  Christianity,  the  progress  of 
the  Bulgarians  was  for  a  time  very  rapid.  The  young 
men  of  their  leading  families  were  many  of  them  edu- 
cated at  Constantinople ;  the  lucrative  traffic  between  the 
East  and  the  West,  which  passed  through  their  hands, 
gave  them  wealth,  and  the  refining  influences  of  civihza- 
tion  were  widely  and  powerfully  felt.  In  the  long  and 
prosperous  reign  of  Simeon,  the  son  of  Bogoris,  the  Bul- 
garian power  reached  its  culminating  point.  In  the  year 
923,  this  prince  appeared  for  the  second  time  before  the 
walls  of  Constantinople,  and,  as  the  result  of  a  treaty 
then  entered  into,  he  assumed  the  tide  of  Emperor,  and 
took  the  proud  position  of  the  equal  of  his  imperial  bro- 
ther of  Constantinople.  By  the  same  treaty  was  estab- 
lished the  entire  independence  of  the  Bulgarian  Church, 
of  which  the  Archbishop  of  Dorostylon  (SiHstria)  was 
made  Patriarch.^  Simeon  also  subdued  the  neighboring 
Servian  provinces,  which  he  laid  waste  with  terrible 
cruelty.  It  would  not  seem,  however,  that  the  Bul- 
garian kings  ever  extended  a  well  established  authority 
over  any  large  portion  of  the  Servian  territories ;  and,  by 
the  treaty  above  referred  to,  the  Balkan  Mountains  were 
still  recognized  as  the  southern  boundary  of  Simeon's 
dominions. 

The  sceptre  of  Simeon  descended  to  feebler  hands,  and 

'  Mackenzie  and  Irby,  p.  46. 

*  Finlay's  Byzantine  Empire,  i.  369.  Tzar  was  the  proper  title  of  the 
Bulgarian  and  Servian,  as  it  now  is  of  the  Russian  sovereigns.  The  capital 
was  called  the  Tzarigrad,  or  King's  Fortress. 


15 


328  THE  TURKISH  SLAVONIANS, 

in  the  years  968  and  970  occurred  two  great  Russian  inva- 
sions, by  which  the  Bulgarian  armies  were  defeated  and 
the  whole  kingdom,  subdued.  The  throne  of  Constantino- 
ple was  occupied  at  this  time  by  John  Zimisces,  an  able 
sovereign  and  valiant  soldier.  It  was  the  purpose  of  the 
Russian  commander  to  pass  the  Balkans  and  lay  siege  to 
Constantinople ;  but  his  dreams  of  conquest  were  sud- 
denly cut  short.  Early  in  the  spring  of  971,  John  Zim- 
isces marched  from  Adrianople,  penetrated  the  passes  of 
the  Balkans  before  the  Russians  dreamed  of  his  approach, 
entirely  defeated  them,  and  recaptured  Boris,  the  Bulga- 
rian King.  Boris  was  compelled  to  surrender  the  inde- 
pendence not  only  of  his  kingdom  but  of  the  Bulgarian 
Church;  and  the  frontiers  of  the  Greek  Empire  were 
again  extended  to  the  Danube.  Thus  fell  the  first  Bul- 
garian kingdom,  after  an  existence  of  just  three  hundred 
years.  ^ 

The  subjection  of  the  Bulgarians,  however,  was  but 
short.  Hardly  had  John  Zimisces  breathed  his  last,  in 
976,  when  four  brothers  of  a  noble  Bulgarian  family 
roused  their  countrymen  to  a  renewed  struggle  for  inde- 
pendence. Three  of  the  brothers  soon  perished,  but 
the  fourth,  Samuel  by  name,  succeeded  in  estabUshing 
himself  firmly  upon  the  Bulgarian  throne.  Samuel  the 
Bulgarian  proved  one  of  the  ablest  leaders  who  ever  con- 
tested the  sceptre  of  empire  with  the  sovereigns  of  Con- 
stantinople. Not  content  with  the  narrow  limits  of  the 
old  Bulgarian  kingdom,  he  passed  the  Balkans,  and  car- 
ried  his  victorious  arms  as  far  south  as  the  PeloponnesuSi 

'  Finlay's  Byzantine  Empire,  i.  410. 


SECOND  BULGARIAN  KINGDOM.  329 

Macedonia,  Thessaly,  and  Epirus  were  in  great  part  add- 
ed to  his  dominions. 

Understanding  well  the  difficulty  of  maintaining  him- 
self in  the  plains  of  Bulgaria  proper  against  the  superior 
discipline  of  the  Roman  armies,  Samuel  transferred  the 
seat  of  his  kingdom  to  north-western  Macedonia,  and 
fixed  his  capital  at  Achrida  or  Lychnidus,  on  Lake 
Achrida.  At  the  same  time  the  independence  of  the 
Bulgarian  Church  was  restored,  and  the  Archbishop  of 
Achrida  was  consecrated  Patriarch. 

The  strength  of  this  second  Bulgarian  Kingdom  lay  in 
the  Slavonic  population  to  the  south  of  the  Balkans  ;  and 
its  establishment  marks  the  complete  fusion  of  the  Bul- 
garians and  Eastern  Slavonians.  Unfortunately  for  the 
cause  of  Bulgarian  independence,  however,  the  throne  of 
Constantinople  was  at  this  time  occupied  by  a  sovereign 
not  only  of  eminent  ability,  but  of  a  fierce  and  terrible 
energy.  The  Emperor  Basil  II.,  sumamed  Bulgaroktonos, 
or  Slayer  of  the  Bulgarians,  assumed  the  imperial  purple 
in  976.^  Perfectly  aware  that  the  establishment  of  this 
new  barbarian  kingdom  at  the  gates  of  his  capital  men- 
aced tlie  very  existence  of  his  Empire,  he  determined 
upon  a  mortal  struggle  which  should  end  only  with  the 
complete  subjection  of  one  or  the  other  of  the  rival  pow- 

^  Basil  Bulgaroktonos  was  himself  of  Slavonic  blood.  Basil  I.,  the 
founder  of  this  imperial  family,  was  a  Slavonian  groom,  whom  the  caprices 
of  fortime  and  his  rare  talents  and  crimes  raised  to  the  imperial  throne.  He 
entered  Constantinople  carrying  all  his  goods  in  a  wallet  upon  his  shoulder, 
and  not  knowing  where  he  could  find  lodging  for  the  night.  He  obtained 
employment  in  the  service  of  an  officer  of  the  Imperial  Court,  and  it  was  his 
skiU  in  taming  unruly  horses  which  first  brought  him  into  notice. — Finlay's 
Byzantine  Empire,  i.  271.     See  above,  Part  I.  chap.  v. 


33©  THE  TURKISH  SLA  VONTAKS, 

ers.  His  first  campaigns  were  disastrous,  and  served  only 
to  establish  the  power  of  Samuel  upon  a  firmer  basis. 
But,  like  Frederick  the  Great,  acquiring  skill  fi-om  defeat, 
he  persevered,  and  ere  long  the  tide  of  success  turned  in 
his  favor.  His  first  great  victory  was  won  in  996.  From 
this  time  for  twenty-two  years  he  prosecuted  the  war  with 
unflagging  determination,  until  at  last  his  end  was  attain- 
ed, and  the  last  Bulgarian  stronghold  surrendered  to  his 
arms.  The  decisive  battle  was  fought  in  10 14,  resulting 
in  the  total  defeat  of  the  Bulgarians.  Basil  followed  this 
victory  by  an  act  of  atrocious  cruelty,  which  covered  his 
name  with  lasting  infamy.  He  put  out  the  eyes  of  fifteen 
thousand  prisoners,  leaving  a  single  eye  to  the  leader  of 
every  hundred,  that  he  might  conduct  his  wretched  com- 
panions to  their  master.  Samuel  went  out  to  meet  the 
returning  captains,  but,  overpowered  by  the  horrible 
sight,  fell  senseless  to  the  ground,  and  died  in  two  days. 

This  act  of  fiendish  cruelty  roused  the  Bulgarians  to  a 
desperate  resistance,  but  it  was  without  avail.  Samuel 
left  his  throne  to  his  son  Gabriel  Radomir,  who  was  soon 
murdered  and  succeeded  by  his  cousin  Ladislas.  Ladislas 
fell  after  a  short  reign  of  two  years  and  five  months,  when 
the  kingdom,  left  without  a  head,  surrendered  without 
further  resistance,  and  in  10 18  the  Byzantine  Empire 
was  once  more  extended  to  the  Adriatic  and  the  Danube. 

After  this  thorough  subjugation,  the  Bulgarians  re- 
mained dependent  upon  the  Byzantine  Empire  for  about 
one  hundred  and  seventy-five  years.  And  when,  about 
the  year  1190,  in  the  reign  of  the  Emperor  Alexis,  a 
successful  revolt  established  the  third  Bulgarian  Kingdom, 
another  people,  the  Wallachians,  the  descendants  of  the 


THIRD  BULGARIAN'  KINGDOM,  331 

old  Latin-speaking  population  which  had  occupied  these 
regions  under  the  Empire  of  Rome,  had  risen  to  a  prom 
inent  position,  and  it  was  a  Wallachian  family  which  se- 
cured possession  of  the  throne.^ 

The  third  Bulgarian  Kingdom  had  its  capital  at  Ter- 
novo,  which  was  made  the  seat  of  a  Bulgarian  Patriarch, 
thus  once  more  restoring  the  independence  of  the  Bulga- 
rian Church.  This  Kingdom  was  limited  to  the  prov- 
inces north  of  the  Balkans ;  and,  excepting  a  temporary 
subjection  to  the  great  Servian  Emperor  Stephen  Du- 
shan,  it  endured  for  a  period  of  two  hundred  years,  until 
it  was  swallowed  up  in  the  conquests  of  the  Turks.  Like 
those  before  it,  it  was  not  characterized  by  a  high  degree 
of  social  quiet  and  good  order.  Unlike  the  Servians,  the 
Bulgarians  never  developed  among  themselves  a  healthful 
and  progressive  political  Hfe.  Their  institutions  were 
confused  and  ill-jointed,  nor  did  they  ever  afford  the 
promise  of  permanent  and  advancing  prosperity.  The 
hope  of  the  Southern  Slaves,  then  as  now,  was  in  the 
Servians,  who  from  the  beginning  have  always  given 
promise  of  a  great  and  progressive  national  development 
Still,  the  Kingdom  of  Ternovo  was  to  some  extent  a 
civilized  and  prosperous  state,  and  displayed  no  little  of 
opulence  and  magnificence.  The  rich  caravan  trade  be- 
tween the  East  and  the  West  still  passed  through  its 
borders,  and  the  massive  storehouses  of  the  princely 
merchants  of  Sophia  remain  to  this  day  an  indestructible 
monument  to  their  enterprise  and  their  wealth.^ 

^  Finlay's  Byzantine  Empire,  ii.  306. 

2  "  The  remains  of  the  old  entrepot  for  the  goods  conveyed  by  the  Bul- 
garian caravans  from  Asia  into  Europe,  are  as  imposing  as  those  of  a  Roman 


332  THE  TURKISH  SLAVONIANS, 

Many  of  the  Bulgarian  Kings  were  patrons  of  learning 
and  letters,  and  some  of  them  were  themselves  writers. 
The  great  Simeon  was  an  author,  and  a  curious  chronicle 
of  John  Asan,  one  of  the  Tzars  of  the  third  Bulgarian 
Kingdom,  is  said  to  have  been  published  a  few  years  ago 
in  modern  Bulgarian.  The  last  Bulgarian  king  was  John 
Shishman,  who  styles  himself,  in  a  golden  bull  addressed 
to  the  monastery  of  Rilo,  "  Faithful  Tzar  and  Autocrat 
of  all  the  Bulgarians  and  Greeks."  Shishman  surrendered 
himself  and  his  capital  to  the  Turks  in  1390.^ 

amphitheatre.  They  consist  of  a  vast  square,  flanked  by  three  superb  ranges 
of  vaulted  galleries,  placed  one  over  the  other.  The  upper  arch  has  in  part 
broken  down,  but  the  others,  built  of  large  masses  of  granite,  are  entire."— 
Cyprien  Robert,  p.  475. 

^  Mackenzie  and  Irby,  PP»  l^  ^^'^  126. 


CHAPTER   III. 

THE     SERVIANS. 

RISE  OF  THE  SERVIAN  EMPIRE  —  STEPHEN  DUSHAN — 
THE  BATTLE  OF  KOSSOVO  —  THE  TURKISH  CON- 
QUEST. 

The  history  of  the  Servians,  in  both  mediaeval  and 
modern  times,  is  full  of  interest.  Not  only  is  it  perhaps 
the  best  example  known  to  us  of  a  Slavonic  people  pur- 
suing quietly  the  natural  course  of  its  own  proper  devel- 
opment ;  but  it  is  the  history  of  one  of  the  noblest  races 
of  the  human  family,  evidently  formed  by  nature  to 
play  no  insignificant  part  in  the  great  drama  of  human 
advancement.  This  history  is  most  instructive  because 
there  is  about  it  from  beginning  to  end  a  strong  and 
delightful  flavor  of  Slavonic  originality.  The  strong 
points  in  the  character  of  the  Servian  people  are  peculiar 
to  themselves.  Almost  alone  of  modern  civilized  peo- 
ples, they  have  preserved  unadulterated  the  simplicity 
of  their  original  character,  the  flavor  of  the  soil  from 
which  they  sprung. 

Loving  freedom  with  ardent  devotion,  from  the  days 
of  their  savage  ancestors  the  Servians  have  always  been 
remarkable  for  the  quiet  and  peaceful  order  of  their 
village  life.  Though  as  brave  as  any  other  people  in 
defence  of  their  rights  and  their  homes,  they  have  never 
been  inclined  to  aggression  and  conquest,  have  never 
been  really  warlike.     As  compared  with  other  nations. 


334  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS. 

they  have  always  been  remarkable  as  a  quiet,  orderly, 
home-keeping  and  industrious  people,  living  in  comfort 
and  abundance,  of  grave  and  dignified  demeanor,  almost 
wholly  free  from  most  of  the  grosser  vices  which  degrade 
humanity,  possessing  a  temperament  in  a  high  degree 
poetic,  and 'delighting,  above  all  other  things,  in  the 
opulent  store  of  ballads  and  legends  which  recount  the 
glories  and  vicissitudes  of  their  history.  In  the  days 
of  the  great  Stephen  Dushan  they  seemed  upon  the 
very  eve  of  making  Constantinople  the  seat  of  a  powerful 
and  endui'ing  Servian  Empire — an  empire  which  would 
have  excluded  the  Turks  from  Europe,  and  changed  the 
course  of  modern  history.  In  our  own  times,  though 
situated  in  the  very  heart  of  the  Turkish  dominions,  and 
with  the  territories  of  their  oppressors  surrounding  them 
on  three  sides,  tliey  have  for  more  tlian  half  a  century 
successfully  asserted  their  independence,  and  now  display 
a  spectacle  of  well  established  freedom,  and  of  advancing 
intelligence,  prosperity,  and  wealth  hardly  to  be  paralleled 
in  Eastern  Europe. 

We  have  already  seen  that  the  Croats  and  Servians 
belonged  originally  to  the  western  branch  of  the  Slavonic 
stock ;  that  they  were  settled  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
Carpathian  Mountains ;  and  that  about  the  year  630,  in 
response  to  an  invitation  of  the  Emperor  Heraclius,  they 
came  by  a  great  national  migration  to  occupy  the  deso- 
late western  provinces  of  the  Greek  Empire.*  The  Croats 
moved  first,  and  occupied  the  north-western  districts  near- 
est the  Adriatic;  the  Servians  followed,  and  settled  the 
regions  next  adjoining  upon  the  east.  The  territory  thus 
1  See  p.  319. 


SERVIAN  NOBILITY,  335 

colonized  extended  from  Epirus  or  Albania  upon  :he 
south  to  the  River  Drave  on  the  north,  and  from  the 
Adriatic  on  the  west  to  Bulgaria  on  the  east.  It  is  a 
magnificent  and  fruitful  country,  much  of  it  wild  and 
mountainous,  but  everywhere  abounding  in  forest-crown- 
ed slopes  and  sunny  valleys  and  plains. 

The  colonists  brought  with  them  in  full  perfection  their 
Slavonic  customs  and  institutions,  and,  although  they  ac- 
knowledged some  allegiance  to  the  Greek  Emperor,  were 
always  essentially  independent.  The  only  nobility  among 
the  early  Servians  was  a  nobility  of  office.  The  Zupan  ^ 
or  Knez  was  the  governor  of  a  province;  the  master  of 
several  provinces  was  a  Grand  Zupan ;  they  called  their 
military  leaders  Voivodes,'^  and  the  heads  of  their  petty 
kingdoms  were  Krals.  There  had  been  many  Krals  of 
Servia,  Bosnia,  Rascia,  and  Dalmatia,  when,  in  1222, 
Stephen  Radoslav  was  crowned  the  first  "  Tzar  of  all  the 
Servian  lands."  The  organization  of  society  among  the 
Servians  was  upon  the  same  communal  principle  which 
seems  to  have  prevailed  everywhere  among  the  early 
Slaves.  A  description  of  the  "  House  Communion,"  as  it 
may  still  be  seen  in  free  Servia  and  Montenegro  in  almost 
its  primitive  character,  will  give  the  reader  a  very  good 
idea  of  the  manner  of  hfe  of  their  ancestors  in  mediaeval 
times. 

The  household  or  community  is  a  sort  of  clan,  consist- 

^  Pronounced  Zhupaan.  For  the  early  history  of  the  Servians,  see 
Ranke's  Servia,  chap.  i. ;  Finlay's  Greece  under  the  Romans,  chap,  iv., 
sect.  6;  Wilkinson,  chap,  i.;  Mackenzie  and  Irby,  chap.  xii. 

2  Voivode,  not  Woiwode,  or  Waiwode.  *' There  is  only  one  letter  in 
the  Slavish  language  for  v  and  w.  The  Slavic  w  is  always  pronounced  like 
the  English  z/." — Talvi,  p.  411,  note. 


336  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS. 

ing  of  several  families,  more  commonly  all  related  to  each 
other,  although  strangers  may  be  received  upon  a  foot- 
ing of  entire  equality.  The  male  members  form  the  Za- 
drooga,  or  corporation.  The  Zadrooga  chooses  the  Sta- 
reshina  (housefather),  who  is  the  responsible  head  and 
director  of  the  community.  The  Stareshina  has  charge 
of  the  common  business  of  the  family,  apportions  in- 
comes and  expenditures,  and  is  the  guardian  of  orphan 
children.  The  *'  House  Communion  "  is  strictly  a  joint 
stock  corporation,  each  member  of  which  is  entitled  to 
share  in  the  profits  according  to  what  he  has  contributed 
or  produced.  Each  family  establishment  forms  a  little 
village  by  itself  Sometimes  the  comparatively  large  and 
imposing  house  of  the  Stareshina  will  appear  in  a  cen- 
tral position,  while  round  it  are  grouped  a  number  of 
smaller  dwellings,  of  which  each  separate  family  has  one. 
In  other  cases,  and  perhaps  more  frequently,  the  whole 
household  is  accommodated  beneath  the  same  roof;  the 
large  common  room  occupying  the  middle  of  the  house, 
while  the  smaller  family  rooms  open  out  of  it  on  the 
sides  of  the  building.  These  family  rooms  or  houses, 
however,  are  little  more  than  sleeping  apartments. 

The  real  home  of  the  whole  community  is  the  large 
common  room,  or  the  house  of  the  Stareshina.  Here 
they  all  live  and  take  their  meals  together.  "  Evening 
finds  the  family  by  the  household  hearth,  by  the  bright 
burning  fire  in  the  house  of  the  Stareshina.  The^  men 
cut  and  repair  the  agricultural  tools  and  house  vessels. 
The  elders  rest  from  their  labors,  smoke,  and  discuss 
what  is  to  be  done  next  day,  or  the  events  of  the  village 
and  the  country.     The  women  group  themselves,  quietly 


GREEK  COMMERCIAL  CITIES.  337 

working,  in  a  circle  near  them  ;  the  merry  little  ones 
play  at  the  feet  of  their  parents,  or  beg  the  grandfather 
to  relate  to  them  about  Czar  Troyan,  or  Marko  Kralie- 
vitch.  Then  the  Stareshina,  or  one  of  the  other  men, 
takes  the  one-stringed  gusla  from  the  wall.  To  its 
singular  monotonous  accompaniment  are  sung  legends, 
heroic  songs,  and  such  as  in  burning  words  relate  the 
need  of  the  fatherland,  and  its  wars  of  liberation.  Thus 
the  house  of  the  Stareshina  becomes  the  social  gathering- 
point  of  the  whole  family.  At  his  hearth  is  kindled  the 
love  of  individuals  for  the  old  traditions  of  the  family  and 
people,  and  the  inspiring  enthusiasm  of  all  for  the  free- 
dom and  prosperity  of  their  native  land.''^ 

For  a  considerable  time  after  their  migration  the  Croats 
and  Servians  formed  several  bannats  or  principalities,  in 
a  greater  or  less  degree  independent.  The  unifying,  na- 
tional movement  among  the  Servians  had  its  origin  from 
the  south-west  corner  01  their  territory,  where  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Greek  and  Latin  commercial  cities  had  com- 
municated to  the  rude  Slaves  the  beginnings  of  civiliza- 
tion. In  the  twelfth  century  the  Adriatic  was  already 
the  scene  of  a  vast  commercial  activity,  and  of  rapidly 
advancing  civilization.  Venice  was  rising  steadily  to  her 
proud  position  as  mistress  of  the  seas,  while  two  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  down  the  eastern  shore  the  little  republic 
of  Ragusa  was  pursuing  a  career  no  less  honorable  and 
successful.  Still  further  south  were  Cattaro,  at  the  head 
of  the  gulf  of  the  same  name,  and  Antivari,  lying  be- 
tween  Lake  Scutari  and   the  sea,  while  further  inland 

*  F.  Kanitz  in  th6  Oestr.  Revue,  vol.  viii.,  quoted  by  Mackenzie  and 
Irby,  p.  670.  ^ 


338  TURKISH  SLA  VONIA.  VS. 

upon   the  waters  of  the  lake  was  the  old  Latin  city  of 

Dioclea.  From  the  fruitfulness  of  the  soil  and  the  com- 
mercial enterprise  and  activity  of  its  population,  all  this 
region  upon  the  Dalmatian  coast  was  making  rapid  pro- 
gress in  prosperity  and  civilization. 

For  many  generations  before  this  period  we  dimly 
trace  a  long  succession  of  Servian  Knezes  and  Krals, 
many  of  whom  were  but  the  petty  chiefs  of  narrow  ter- 
ritories, while  others  were  kings  of  considerable  power. 
The  founding  of  the  Servian  Empire  is  dated  from  the 
accession  of  Stephen  Nemanja,^  whose  paternal  domin- 
ions as  Duke  of  Chelmo  ^  and  Grand  Zupan  of  Rascia 
embraced  all  the  Servian  lands  upon  the  Dalmatian  coast. 
Zeta  or  Zenta,  the  wealthy  and  cultivated  region  about 
Dioclea  on  Lake  Scutari,  seems  to  have  been  the  cradle 
of  the  Servian  state.^  Nemanja  is  said  to  have  reigned 
over  all  Servia,  and  to  have  taken  from  the  Byzantine 
governors  all  the  fortified  places  within  the  Servian  limits. 
Among  those  fortresses  were  Skopia  and  Prizren,  the  lat- 
ter of  which  was  made  the  Servian  czarigrad  or  capital. 
Nemanja  was  succeeded  in  1196  by  his  son,  Stephen 
TehomiL* 

Of  the  three  sons  of  Tehomil,  the  youngest,  named 

^  Pronounced  N^manya^  the  accent  on  the  first  syllable. 

^  Chelmo  or  Zaculmia  was  the  district  upon  the  seacoast  extending 
northwards  from  Ragusa  to  the  River  Narenta. — Wilkinson,  ii.  96. 

^  "  Montenegro  was  then  called  Zeta  or  Zenta,  which  was  divided  into 
Upper  and  Lower  Zenta,  the  latter  extending  to  the  Lake  of  Scutari,  hence 
called  Lake  of  Zenta."— Wilkinson,  i.  477,  and  note. 

*  Wilkinson,  i.  448,  note,  and  IL  Appendix  C.  Ranke  (Servia,  p.  b) 
makes  St.  Sava  the  son  of  Nemanja,  and  Nemanja  himself  in  his  old  age  the 
monk  Simeon.  But  the  authorities  followed  by  Wiikinson  se«a  to  warrant 
the  statement  in  thr  text. 


ST.  SAVA.  339 

Rasko  or  Predislav,  but  better  known  in  liistory  by  his 
monastic  name  as  St.  Sava,  was  destined  to  accomplish  a 
work  for  his  country  and  his  race  greater  even  than  that 
of  his  royal  grandfather.  In  spite  of  all  that  his  parents 
could  do  to  prevent,  he  forsook  his  royal  station,  and,  be- 
taking himself  to  Mount  Athos,  became  a  caloyer  or 
monk.  After  Rasko's  departure,  Stephen  Tehomil  him- 
self so  wearied  of  the  cares  of  royalty,  so  yearned  for 
the  society  of  his  son,  that  after  a  reign  of  only  a  single 
year  he  placed  the  crown  upon  the  head  of  his  oldest 
son,  Stephen  Radoslav  or  Velkan,  and,  following  Rasko 
to  Mount  Athos,  became  himself  a  monk  under  the 
name  of  Simeon. 

After  his  father's  abdication  St  Sava  entered  upon  his 
long  and  zealous  labors  for  the  good  of  his  country.  He 
obtained  from  the  Greek  Emperor  and  the  Patriarch 
of  Constantinople  a  recognition  of  the  independence 
of  the  Servian  Church,  and  of  his  brother  as  the  Tzar  of 
the  Servian  peoples.  Having  been  consecrated  as  Metro- 
politan of  Servia,  he  returned  to  his  native  land,  and 
fixed  his  ecclesiastical  throne  at  the  church  and  monas- 
tery of  Zitchka.  Here,  in  the  year  1222,  he  convened  a 
great  Sabor,  or  Parliament,  at  which  he  crowned  his 
brother  Stephen  "  Tzar  of  all  the  Servian  lands  and  the 
Pomoria."  *  Considering  the  barbarous  character  of  his 
country  and  his  age,  St.  Sava  left  an  honorable  record- 
He  completed  the  ecclesiastical  organization  of  the  king- 
dom, built  churches  and  monasteries,  secured  peace  with 
foreign  nations,  healed  dissensions  at  home,  and  preached 

^  Or  Prfanorie;  the  commercial  cities  upon  the  r.eacoast. — I^ankc's 
Servia,  p.  7. 


340  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS. 

the  gospel  to  the  poor.  He  has  also  the  doubtful  praise 
of  having  finished  the  work  of  his  father  and  grand- 
father in  rooting  out  heresy.  What  this  language 
means,  however,  is  not  very  clear,  as  the  Paulician 
sects  ^  (the  Patarenes  arid  Bogomilians,  a»kin  to  the 
Waldenses  and  Albigenses  of  the  South  of  Europe)  con- 
tinued to  be  very  numerous  among  the  Servians  down 
almost  or  quite  to  the  Turkish  conquest. 

Previous  to  the  time  ot  Nemanja  the  religious  affairs  of 
the  Croats  and  Servians,  lying,  as  they  did,  midway  be- 
tween Rome  and  Constantinople,  had  been  in  great  con- 
fusion. Part  inclined  to  the  Papal  Church,  and  part  to 
the  Greek,  while  the  Paulicians  formed  a  third  party  of  no 
little  strength  and  influence.  The  decision  of  Nemanja 
connected  the  Servians  wholly  and  permanently  with 
Constantinople,  while  the  Croats  turned  finally  to  Rome. 
The  separation  between  the  Croats  and  Servians  was 
political  as  well  as  religious.  Most  of  their  Zupans  had 
been  subject  to  Charlemagne,  although  afterwards  they 
were  united  in  a  powerful  kingdom  of  their  own,  which' 
included  Dalmatia  and  a  part  of  Bosnia.  Before  the  rise 
of  the  Servian  Empire,  the  Croats  had  already  placed 
their  crown  upon  the  head  of  their  neighbor  the  King  of 
Hungary. 

From  the  time  of  St  Sava,  the  Servian  state  pursued 
the  course  of  its  political  and  social  development  with 
more  or  less  of  quiet  and  steadiness,  until  it  reached  its 
culminating  point  in  the  reign  of  its  renowned  Emperor 
Stephen  Dushan,  who  ascended  the  throne  in  1333.  The 
sway  of  this  able  and  powerful  prince  extended  over  the 
*  See  above,  Part  I.  chap.  iv. ;  and  ^Ikinson,  ii.  97-114. 


STEPHEN  DUSHAN,  341 

whole  of  the  South  Slavonic  race  excepting  the  Croats. 
The  Bulgarian  Kingdom  was  for  the  time  made  subsid- 
iary, and  his  authority  extended  over  Macedonia,  Thessaly, 
and  Epirus.  His  Empire  thus  embraced  the  whole  of 
the  present  territories  of  Turkey  in  Europe  south  of  the 
Danube,  with  the  exception  of  Thrace. 

The  designs  of  Stephen  Dushan  were  vast  and  far- 
reaching.*  The  Greek  Empire  now  presented  but  the 
shadow  of  imperial  power,  and  the  Turk  was  already 
standing  defiantly  at  the  gates  of  Europe.  It  was  evident 
that  either  the  Ottoman  or  the  Nemanyitch^  line  must 
very  soon  reign  in  Constantinople.  The  instincts  of  self- 
preservation  and  the  honor  of  the  Christian  name  coin* 
cided  with  the  impulses  of  ambition  in  impelling  the  Ser- 
vian Tzar  to  his  decision.  He  determined  to  restore  in 
his  own  person  the  Roman  Empire  of  the  East,  as,  six 
hundred  years  before,  Charlemagne  had  that  of  the  West. 
He  accordingly  assembled  a  great  Sabor  or  Parliament  at 
Skopia,  at  which  he  was  solemnly  crowned  Emperor  of 

'  Isrttnke,  p.  ri ;  Finlay,  ii.  551 ;  and  the  sketch  of  the  history  of 
Stephen  Dushan  in  Mackenzie  and  Irby. 

2  Nemanyitch  is  the  proper  surname  of  all  the  Servian  princes  descended 
from  Nemanja.  It  is  the  usual  Slavonian  usage  to  designate  each  man  by 
the  name  of  his  father  appended  to  his  own.  The  terminal  itch,  vich,  vitch, 
or  vitsch  in  Slavonian  patronymics  signifies  tlae  son  of.  The  heir  apparent 
to  the  Russian  throne  is  the  Czarevitch,  or  Czar's-son.  Vuk  Stephanovitch 
is  Vuk  the  son  of  Stephen.  Alexander  Kara  Georgevitch  is  Alexander  the 
son  of  Kara  George ;  and  Milosch  Obrenovitch  is  Milosch  the  son  of  Obren. 
Vitsch  is  the  spelling  of  Prof.  Ranke,  and  this,  unpronounceable  as  it  seems 
to  English  ears,  is  probably  the  nearest  approach  to  the  correct  orthography. 
Mrs.  Robinson  observes  (pp.  14-23)  that  the  Slavonic  languages  abound  in 
sibilants  which  can  hardly  be  represented  by  English  characters,  or  articu- 
lated by  any  foreigner;  shy  tsh,  sht,  shtsh  (Polish  szcz)^  &c,  being  repre- 
sented in  the  old  Slavonic  by  single  letters. 


34*  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS. 

the  Roumelians  or  Romans.  At  another  Sabor,  held  at 
Seres,  the  successor  of  St.  Sava  was  elevated  to  the  rank 
of  Patriarch,  and  Ipek  was  made  the  seat  of  his  ecclesias- 
tical authority. 

The  new  Emperor  then  proceeded  to  arrange  every- 
thing in  his  dominions  preparatory  to  his  grand  march 
upon  Constantinople.  The  several  provinces  were  put  in 
charge  of  deputies,  or  viceroys,  whose  titles  were  gradu- 
ated according  to  their  dignity.^  Seven  years  of  his 
earlier  life  Stephen  Dushan  had  passed  at  Constantino- 
ple.^ He  had  thus  enjoyed  the  opportunity  of  acquiring 
not  only  the  best  education  which  the  times  afforded,  but 
a  knowledge  of  the  laws  and  polity  of  the  Greek  Empire, 
and  a  minute  acquaintance  with  all  its  affairs.  This  early 
training  bore  important  fruit  in  his  after  life.  At  the  Sabor 
of  Skopia  was  enacted  a  code  of  laws  which  has  ever 
since  borne  the  Emperor's  name,  and  is  one  of  the  most 
interesting  and  valuable  remains  of  the  old  Servian  lite- 
rature and  institutions.  Nothing  else  perhaps  is  able  to 
throw  so  clear  a  light  upon  the  state  of  Servian  society 
at  this  time.  From  those  laws  it  is  clear  that  the  Ser- 
vians were  still  a  free  people.  The  sovereigns  took  no 
important  step  without  the  advice  and  consent  of  their 
Sabor  or  Parliament.  These  Sabors  were  not  always  the 
same.  Sometimes  they  were  attended  only  by  the  official 
nobles ;  sometimes  the  summons  included  "  all  men  of 
note  in  the  Servian  lands."     The  feudal  system,  and  its 

1  These  titles  were  Krai  (King),  Despot,  Caesar,  Sevastocrator  (the 
three  latter  being  dignities  borrowed  from  the  Greeks),  JCnez  (Prince), 
Ban  (Count),  and  Voivode  (General). 

«  Finlay,  ii.  55a 


LA  WS  OF  STEPHEN  DUSHAN.  343 

wretched  attendant,  serfdom,  seem  never  to  have  existed 
in  Servia.  There  was  a  large  and  powerful  body  of  no- 
bles whose  titles  were  hereditary,  but  their  nobility  was 
based  not  in  landed  estates  but  in  office. 

Perhaps  these  laws  present  no  more  striking  evidence 
of  a  sound  statesmanship  than  in  the  careful  protection 
which  they  afford  to  trade.  Everything  is  ordered  to 
favor  the  construction  of  roads  and  bridges.  The  gov- 
ernment undertakes,  for  a  moderate  sum,  to  insure  the 
foreign  merchant  against  losses  by  robbery;  and  it  is 
provided  that  when  he  is  brought  before  a  legal  tribunal 
on  any  charge,  half  the  jury  shall  be  of  his  own  coun- 
trymen. It  was  during  this  period,  and  owing  in  part, 
no  doubt,  to  the  protection  afforded  to  their  commerce 
by  the  Servian  princes,  that  Ragusa  and  the  other  im- 
portant cities  upon  the  seacoast  acquired  that  wealth  and 
strength  which  enabled  them  to  exist  so  long  as  inde- 
pendent republics  after  the  conquest  of  the  Servian  Em- 
pire by  the  Turks.* 

This  period  was  the  most  flourishing  age  of  the  Ser- 
vian Church.  Letters  were  patronized,  and  books,  chiefly 
ecclesiastical,  were  multiplied.  The  arts  made  great  pro- 
gress, and  many  fine  churches  and  monasteries  still  re- 
main, in  which  the  best  talents  of  both  Byzantine  and 
Italian  art  were  made  subservient  to  the  taste  of  the 
Nemanyitch  princes. 

His  preparations  at  length   complete,    Stephen   Du- 

^  Ragusa  remained  rich,  prosperous,  and  powerful  until  the  city  was  al- 
most wholly  destroyed  by  a  dreadful  earthquake,  April  6th,  1667.  This 
litde  republic  fell  at  last,  with  many  other  and  mightier  states,  before  the 
power  of  Napoleon,  in  1806. — Wilkinson,  chap,  v. 


344  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS, 

shan  assembled  the  forces  of  his  Empire,  and  began  his 
march  upon  Constantinople.  His  design  was  not  so 
much  to  conquer  that  ancient  seat  of  imperial  power  as 
to  present  himself  a  rightful  and  irresistible  candidate  for 
the  throne  to  which  his  Empire  had  for  so  many  cen- 
turies been  subject,  and  which  had  been  already  filled 
by  so  many  Emperors  of  Slavonic  blood.  It  is  vain  to 
speculate  on  what  might  have  been  the  subsequent 
course  of  events  in  Eastern  Europe  if  this  great  founder 
of  Servian  power  had  lived  to  old  age.  The  imagina- 
tion dwells  fondly  upon  this  young  and  vigorous  Empire, 
replacing  the  worn-out  pageant  at  Constantinople,  hold- 
ing the  gates  of  Europe  firmly  against  the  Turk,  and 
advancing  side  by  side  with  Germany,  France,  and  Eng- 
land in  prosperity  and  civilization ;  but  all  this  was  not 
to  be.  Hardly  had  the  Servian  Emperor  set  out  on  his 
march  for  Constantinople,  when,  in  1355,  a  fever  seized 
him  and  carried  him  quickly  to  his  grave. 

Dushan  had  sought  to  provide  for  such  an  emer- 
gency, and  had  named  Vukashine,  Krai  of  Zenta,  Regent 
of  the  Empire  and  guardian  of  his  son,  Urosh,  in  the 
event  of  his  decease.  But  the  Regent  proved  treacher- 
ous, the  young  Tzar  was  but  a  helplejs  boy,  dissensions 
filled  the  imperial  family,  and  the  majestic  fabric  reared 
by  the  genius  of  Stephen  Dushan  rapidly  crumbled 
away.  Bulgaria  and  Bosnia  recovered  their  indepen- 
dence ;  the  Southern  nobles  threw  off  their  allegiance, 
and  were  one  by  one  subdued  by  the  Turks,  now  firmly 
established  in  Thrace;  and  finally,  in  1368/  the  young 
Emperor,  Stephen  Urosh  V.,  was  secretly  murdered  by 

*  Wilkinson  ii.,  Appendix  C. 


DBA  TH  OF  STEPHEN  DUSHAN,  345 

Vukashine,  who,  pretending  that  his  master  had  gone 
on  a  long  pilgrimage,  held  the  government  In  his  own 
hands.  Vukashine  retained  his  ill-gotten  power  until 
1371*  when,  after  a  defeat  suffered  from  the  Turks  under 
Amurath  L,  his  standard-bearer  discovered  the  guilty 
secret,  and  laid  the  traitorous  Krai  dead  at  his  feet. 

It  is  hardly  possible  for  the  less  simple-minded  and 
poetic  men  of  the  West  to  understand  the  vividness  with 
which  the  constant  chanting  of  their  old  traditionary  bal- 
lads and  legends  has  impressed  these  and  all  the  events 
of  their  early  history  upon  the  minds  of  the  whole  Ser- 
vian race.  We  cannot  better  take  our  leave  of  this  great 
Servian  hero,  whose  glories  are  sung  by  day  and  by 
night,  in  every  Servian  market-place  and  by  every  Ser- 
vian hearthstone,  than  in  the  simple  and  pathetic  lan- 
guage of  one  of  these  old  heroic  poems  : — 

"When  Stephen  Dushan  felt  the  hand  of  death  upon 
him,  he  bade  them  carry  him  to  the  top  of  a  hill  from 
whence  he  could  look,  on  the  one  hand  towards  Constan- 
tinople, and  on  the  other  towards  the  Servian  lands. 
And,  behold,  when  he  had  looked  this  way  and  that,  bit- 
ter tears  gathered  in  the  eyes  of  the  Tzar.  Then  said 
his  secretary,  King's-son-Marko,^  '  Wherefore  weepest 
thou,  O  Tzar  ? '  The  Tzar  answered  him,  '  Therefore 
weep  I,  not  because  I  am  about  to  leave  the  countries 
where  I  have  made  good  roads,  and  builded  good  bridges, 
and  appointed  good  governors ;  but  because  I  must  leave 

^  That  is,  **  Marko  Kralievitch,"  the  son  of  Krai  Viikashine.  Marko 
Kralievitch  is  one  of  the  most  famoHS  characters  and  heroes  of  Servian  leg- 
endary lore.  For  his  story,  see  Mackenzie  and  Irby,  chap,  viii.,  and 
Ranke's  Servia,  pp.  52-55. 

IS*       - 


346  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS, 

them  without  "taking  the  City  of  Empire;  and  I  see  the 
gate  standing  open  by  which  the  enemy  of  the  land  will 
enter  in.'  Then  the  secretary  Marko  made  haste,  and 
wrote  down  the  words  of  the  Tzar,  that  they  might  be 
remembered  by  his  son,  the  boy  Urosh  ;  that  they  might 
be  remembered  by  the  Servian  nation  ;  that  they  might 
be  remembered  by  all  peoples  among  the  Sclaves."  ^ 

The  murder  of  Urosh  extinguished  the  Nemanyitch 
line ;  and  when  Vukashine  had  paid  the  penalty  of  his 
crime,  a  Sabor  of  the  Servian  nation  was  convened  for 
the  election  of  another  Tzar.  The  choice  fell  upon  Lazar  ^ 
(Lazarus),  a  natural  son  of  Stephen  Dushan,  Knez  of  Sir- 
mium,  a  frontier  province  north  of  the  Save.  Lazar 
proved-a^^yirtiious  and  able  sovereign,  but  he  could  not 
fill  his  father's  place,  or  restore  the  greatness  of  his  fath- 
er's Empire.  This  fact  was  but  too  manifest  when  the 
Servians  came  to  their  mortal  struggle  with  the  Turks,  in 
the  battle  of  Kossovo,  in  1389.  Upon  that  fatal  field  the 
brave  Lazar  fell.^  With  him  died  the  independence  and 
the  glory  of  his  kingdom,  but  not  unavenged.  The 
Turks  won  their  victory  at  a  terrible  cost,  and  as  Sultan 
Amurath  stood  surveying  the  field  of  blood,  a  Servian 
noble,  rising  from  amidst  the  heaps  of  slain,  plunged  a 
dagger  into  his  bowels,  and  left  him  stretched  upon  the 
same  field  with  the  last  of  the  Servian  Tzars. 

'  Mackenzie  and  Irby,  p.  161. 

*  Wilkinson  says  (ii.  284,  and  Appendix  C)  that  Lazar  bore  only  the 
title  of  Knez.  This  statement  is  obviously  incorrect.  Owen  Meredith  af- 
firms (p.  65),  though  without  indicating  his  authority,  that  he  was  conse- 
crated Czar  in  1376.. 

3  See  Owen  Meredith--  translation  of  the  long  Servian  heroic  poemy 
'•  The  BatUe  of  Kossovo.", 


BA  TTLE  OF  KOSSO  VO,  347 

As  the  result  of  this  battle,  Sultan  Bajazet  and 
Stephen  Lazarevitch,  the  successors  of  the  two  fallen 
monarchs,  entered  into  a  compact  by  which  Stephen 
acknowledged  his  kingdom  to  be  subsidiary  to  the 
Turkish  power,  gave  his  sister  in  marriage  to  Bajazet, 
and  formed  with  him  a  league  of  brotherhood.^  This 
compact  Stephen  observed  faithfully  to  the  day  of  his 
death.  At  the  terrible  battle  of  Angora,  at  which  the 
Turkish  power  was  annihilated,  and  Bajazet  himself  taken 
prisoner  by  Timour  (Tamarlane),  Stephen  was  present 
with  his  contingent,  and  fought  bravely  for  his  brother- 
in-law.  More  surprising  still,  when  the  victory  of  Ti- 
mour had  opened  the  way  to  the  recovery  of  Servian 
independence,  instead  of  availing  himself  of  the  oppor- 
tunity, Stephen  still  remained  faithful  to  his  engagement, 
and  stood  by  the  sons  of  Bajazet  until  they  recovered 
their  father's  throne. 

His  fidelity  availed  nothing  for  his  people.  No  sooner 
had  he  breathed  his  last,  in  1428,  than  the  Turks  laid 
claim  to  his  kingdom.  One  stronghold  after  another 
surrendered  to  them  until  Servia  was  prostrate  at  the 
feet  of  the  Sultan.  After  the  death  of  Stephen,  George 
Brankovitch,  as  Despot  of  Servia,  succeeded  to  some 
poor  remains  of  his  power,  and  made  common  cause 
with  John  Huniades  when  that  famous  Hungarian  hero 
beat  back  the  Turks  and  gave  the  Servians  a  last  oppor- 
tunity to  throw  off  their  yoke.  But  the  aversion  of  the 
Servians  to  the  Roman  Church  was  stronger  than  their 
aversion  to  the  Turks ;  and  rather  than  pass  under  the 
ecclesiastical  rule  of  the  Pope,  they  chose  to  remain  with 
'  Ranke,  p.  16. 


548  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS, 

their  Greek  brethren  under  the  civil  rule  of  the  Sultan. 
George  Brankovitch  was  deposed  in  1458,  and  in  1459 
Servia  was  made  a  Turkish  province.  Bosnia,  which 
since  the  death  of  Stephen  Dushan  had  been  again  an 
independent  kingdom,  surrendered  to  Mohammed  II.  in 
1463,  and  Servian  freedom  was  at  an  end. 

In  their  hope  that  under  Ottoman  rule  they  might  en- 
joy fair  treatment  and  ecclesiastical  freedom,  the  Servians 
were  woefully  deceived.  No  sooner  were  their  strong- 
holds opened  to  the  Turks  than  they  were  made  to  feel 
in  its  most  grinding  form  the  o-ppression  of  Moslem 
tyranny.  The  country  was  parceled  out  into  spahiHcs ; 
every  fifth  year  the  terrible  tribute  of  a  tentli  of  the 
Christian  youth  was  exacted  for  the  service  of  the  Sultan  ; 
the  nobles  either  apostatized  to  save  life  and  power,  fled 
from  the  country,  or  were  destroyed ;  and  the  whole  re- 
maining body  of  the  people  sunk  into  helpless,  unarmed 
Rayahs.  So  many  of  both  nobles  and  people  escaped  to 
Hungary  that  they  formed  there  a  little  principality,^ 
the  rulers  of  which  were  long  called  Despots  of  Servia. 
George  Brankovitch,  the  last  of  these  Hungarian  Despots 
of  Servia,  after  fiUing  various  high  positions  under  the 
Austrian  government,  and  writing  a  history  of  Servia, 
died  in  an  Austrian  prison  in  1711.^ 

There  were,  however,  a  few  Servian  nobles,  and  a 
larger  number  in  Herzegovina,  who,  strong  in  their  moun- 
tain fastnesses,  and  the  support  of  a  brave  and  well-armed 
people,  were  able  to  make  such  terms  with  the  Turks 
that  they  retained  both  their  power  and  their  religion.' 

*  The  province  of  Slavonia,  between  the  rivers  Drave  and  Save. 
»  Talvi,  p.  Ill;  Bowring,  Introduction,  p.  23,  note. 

*  Ranke,  pp.  20,  28. 


THE  SERVIAN  CHURCH,  yi^ 

But  the  number  of  these  Christian  chiefs  under  Turkish 
rule  was  always  comparatively  very  small,  and  grew  less 
as  time  passed  away.  The  Servian  nobles  mostly  disap. 
peared;  the  Bosnian  nobles  nearly  all  apostatized  and 
became  Turkish  Beys,  though  retaining  their  national 
language. 

For  more  than  three  hundred  years  after  the  Turkish 
conquest,  the  Servian  Church  retained  its  independence, 
and  for  two  hundred  years  the  Patriarchs  of  Ipek  remain- 
ed an  important  centre  and  representative  of  Servian  na- 
tionality, paying  an  annual  tribute  to  the  Porte  of  sixty- 
three  thousand  aspers.^  But  in  1646  the  Turks  seized 
the  Servian  Patriarch  and  sent  him  to  Brusa,  in  Asia 
Minor,  where  he  was  ignominiously  hanged.  This  out- 
rage was  probably  occasioned  by  threatening  movements 
already  in  progress,  and  seems  to  have  driven  the  Ser- 
vians to  open  rebellion.  In  1689,  the  new  Patriarch, 
Arsenius  Tzernoievitch,  joined  an  invading  Austrian 
army  at  the  head  of  a  strong  Servian  force,  hoping  to 
secure  the  final  deliverance  of  his  country  from  Turkish 
oppression.  The  issue  of  the  war  was  not  according  to 
his  hopes,  and  at  its  close  he  migrated  to  Hungary  at  the 
head  of  thirty-seven  thousand  Servian  families,  leaving 
Stara  Servia  almost  denuded  of  inhabitants,  to  be  re- 
settled by  Albanians.^  After  this  great  national  move- 
ment, the  Patriarch  of  Ipek  was  appointed  by  the  Porte, 

^  Id.,  p.  24,  note. 

2  Ranke,  p.  22.  Stara  Servia  (Old  Servia)  is  the  Servian  territory  south 
of  the  Balkans,  containing  Ipek  and  Prizren,  the  ecclesiastical  and  civil  capi- 
tals  of  the  Servian  Empire.  Though  now  containing  but  few  inhabitants 
of  Slavonian  blood,  it  is  very  dear  to  the  Servians  as  the  ancient  seat  of  their 
national  glory. 


350  TURKISH  SLAVONIANS, 

until  1737,  when,  as  the  result  of  another  rebellion,  the 
Servian  Patriarchate  was  entirely  suppressed,  and  the 
Servian  Church  made  dependent  upon  the  Greek  Pa- 
triarch of  Constantinople.  The  Greek  proved  a  worse 
tyrant  than  the  Turk.  The  national  language  was  pro- 
scribed, and  the  churches  were  filled  with  Greek  bishops, 
a  set  of  greedy  cormorants,  whose  only  care  for  their 
flocks  has  been  to  squeeze  from  them  the  largest  possible 
amount  of  money.  This  measure  completed  the  subju- 
gation of  the  Servian  people.  By  it,  so  far  as  Turkish 
tyranny  could  accomplish  such  a  result,  their  L.st  right 
was  sacrificed,  their  national  existence  destroyed.  "The 
Rayahs,  excluded  from  all  share  in  the  conduct  of  public 
affairs,  appeared  only  as  persons  to  be  ruled  over,  .  .  . 
a  weaponless  herd,  whose  duty  was  obedience  and  sub- 
jection." 

The  immense  numbers  of  Servians  who  from  time  to 
time  removed  to  the  Austrian  dominions  were  settled 
as  a  military  colony  to  maintain  a  perpetual  guard  against 
the  Turks.  This  military  colony,  known  as  the  Grenzer, 
or  Borderers,  occupied  the  whole  Austrian  frontier  from 
Croatia  to  the  borders  of  Transylvania.  It  was  main- 
tained in  full  vigor  and  efficiency  until  187 1,  and  could 
bring  into  the  field  a  well-trained  force  of  one  hundred 
thousand  of  the  best  and  bravest  soldiers  of  the  Austrian 
Empire.  This  colony  is  organized  into  communes  and 
"  House  Communions  "  on  the  Servian  principle,  although 
but  one-third  of  its  people  are  reckoned  as  Servians.^ 

»  Ranke,  pp.  32,  33. 

*  See  a  statement  from  the  London  Times,  on  the  authority  of  Pro£ 
Eloeden  of  Berlin,  in  New  York  Semi-Weekly  Times,  March  10,  1876. 


FALL  OF  SERVIAN'  FREEDOM.  351 

The  fall  of  the  rising,  vigorous,  Christian  civilization  of 
the  Servian  people  before  the  barbarian,  unprogressive 
Turk,  is  one  of  the  many  things  in  the  history  of  the 
past  which  we  find  it  difficult  to  reconcile  with  the  wis- 
dom of  a  Divine  Providence.  We  can  understand  why 
Mohammedanism  was  permitted  to  triumph  over  the 
decaying  civilization  of  the  East.  The  living,  vigorous 
faith  of  the  Saracens  and  the  Turks  was  better  than  the 
dead  Christianity  of  Western  Asia ;  the  universal  and 
equal  servitude  of  Turkish  oppression  was  better  than  the 
chattel  slavery  which  held  in  bondage -half  the  population 
of  the  later  Roman  Empire.  But  here  was  a  people  in- 
stinct with  the  energy  of  youth,  and  just  entering  upon 
the  grand  career  of  their  social  and  political  development ; 
a  nation  of  freemen,  whose  future  seemed  bright  with 
promise  for  themselves  and  for  the  world.  Why  was  this 
promise  blighted,  and  a  nation  which  seemed  entering 
upon  a  career  as  grand  and  worthy  as  that  of  France  or 
England,  suffered  to  be  thus  buried  for  centuries,  not 
only  from  the  activities,  but  almost  from  the  knowledge 
of  the  Christian  world,  beneath  the  deluge  of  Moslem  con- 
quest ?  Can  it  be  that  it  was  necessary  for  the  Servians 
to  lie  for  four  centuries  in  a  state  of  suspended  political 
animation  to  preserve  them  from  the  fate  of  their  north- 
ern kindred,  that  the  Turk  was  a  needful  agent  to  pre- 
vent a  mighty  despotism  like'  that  of  Russia  from  fixing 
its  iron  grasp  upon  the  fair  regions  of  Southern  Europe  ? 
It  may  be  so.  If  Stephen  Dushan  had  succeeded  in  his 
great  designs,  and  had  firmly  enthroned  himself  in  *'  the 
City  of  Empire,"  he  would  have  thenceforth  reigned  in 
the  fullness  of  imperial  power.     The  traditions,  the  pol- 


16 


35a  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS, 

icy,  and  the  essential  spirit  of  the  Byzantine  despotism 
would,  in  all  probability,  have  been  transferred  to  his 
government.  The  patient,  quiescent  Servians  would 
have  submitted  but  too  readily  to  the  fatal  change,  and 
they  might  have  found  themselves  ere  long  fettered  with 
a  bondage  far  worse  than  that  of  the  Turks. 

It  is  at  least  clear  that  the  long  catalepsy  which  the 
Servians  have  suffered  under  Turkish  oppression  has 
transferred  the  grand  career  of  their  national  develop- 
ment from  a  despotic  age  to  an  age  of  freedom.  And  no 
thoughtful  student  of  their  recent  history  can  have  failed 
to  notice  that  the  most  remarkable  characteristic  of  their 
new-born  political  life,  like  that  of  the  Greeks,  and  from 
the  same  causes,  is  an  intensely  democratic  spirit 


CHAPTER  IV. 

MONTENEGRO. 

The  Servian  monarchy  received  its  death- wound  upon 
the  field  of  Kossovo,  and  died  with  Stephen  Lazarevitch. 
But  amidst  the  strong  fastnesses  of  the  mountains  of  the 
West  a  wonderful  fragment  of  this  ill-fated  Empire  has 
preserved  not  only  its  own  independence  but  the  lan- 
guage, the  institutions,  the  manners,  and  the  spirit  of  the 
mediaeval  Servians  to  the  present  time. 

This  narrow  and  politically  insignificant  but  glorious 
remnant  of  the  Servian  Empire  is  called,  in  the  language 
of  its  own  people,  Tzernogora,  or  the  Black  Mountain ; 
to  the  world  it  is  known  by  the  Venetian  translation 
of  the  same  name  —  Montenegro.  Its  territory,  lying 
upon  the  rugged  mountains  overlooking  the  Adriatic  and 
the  Gulf  of  Cattaro,  just  at  the  lower  extremity  of  the 
Austrian  province  of  Dalmatia,  is  no  more  than  sixty 
miles  in  length  by  thirty-five  in  breadth,  occupied  by  a 
population  of  about  a  hundred  and  twenty  thousand 
souls,  with  perhaps  twenty  thousand  fighting  men.^ 

This  tiny  state,  not  more  from  its  wonderful  history 
than  from  the  present  position,  character  and  manners 

^  Wilkinson,  i.  406;  Slave  Provinces  of  Turkey  (Bohn),  p.  394.  Ac- 
cording to  a  statement  of  Lady  Strangford,  Prince  Nicolas  reckoned  the 
population  of  Montenegro  and  the  Berda,  in  1863,  at  two  hundred  thou- 
sand.-~- Eastern  Shores  of  the  Adriatic,  p.  172. 


354  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS, 

of  its  people,  is  one  of  the  most  curious  and  interesting 
communities  to  be  found  in  the  world.  Its  whole  ter- 
ritory is  one  vast  natural  fortress,  easily  defended  at  al- 
most every  point  against  an  invading  force.  Upon  those 
sterile  rocks  a  race  of  Servian  heroes,  who  prized  their 
ancient  freedom  above  all  other  possessions,  has  stood 
for  four  hundred  years  in  proud  defiance,  the  bulwark  of 
Christendom,  and  a  thorn  in  the  side  of  the  Turk. 

Like  other  and  greater  states,  Montenegro  has  not 
been  without  sad  vicissitudes  of  fortune,  and  sometimes 
her  strength  has  been  brought  very  low.  After  several 
generations  of  victory  and  independence,  the  Turkish 
forces,  led  by  her  own  renegade  sons,  were  able  to  re- 
duce the  principality  to  great  distress  and  partial  sub- 
jection. But  at  length,  by  their  own  unaided  valor,  her 
people  broke  the  yoke  of  Turkish  oppression.  From 
that  day  to  this  they  have  maintained  their  indepen- 
dence, constantly  defeating,  and  often  with  annihilating 
victories,  the  incessant  efforts  of  the  Turks  to  reduce 
them  to  submission.  In  more  than  forty  campaigns  has 
this  minute  commonwealth  borne  the  full  weight  of  Tur- 
kish invading  power,  until  at  last  her  valor  has  received 
its  reward,  and  her  rights  as  an  independent  state  have 
been  recognized  and  secured  by  being  brought  under 
the  common  law  of  Europe. 

It  was  by  the  memorable  battle  of  Grahovo,  in  May, 
1858,  that  Montenegro  finally  assured  her  position  in 
the  European  political  system.  A  description  of  this 
short  but  decisive  conflict  will  illustrate  the  style  of 
Montenegrin  warfare,  and  the  way  in  which  these  in- 
vincible mouhtaineers  have  so  long  preserved  their  free- 


MONTENEGRO,  355 

dom.  Elated  as  it  would  seem  by  the  advantages  won 
for  them  by  the  arms  of  their  allies  in  the  Crimea,  and 
forgetting  their  own  solemn  declaration  at  the  Paris  Con- 
gress, that  they  would  respect  the  status  quo,  the  Turks, 
early  in  1858,  concentrated  on  the  Montenegrin  frontiers 
the  forces  of  the  neighboring  provinces,  while  a  succes- 
sion of  powerful  armaments  bore  by  sea,  from  Constan- 
tinople to  the  scene  of  action,  fresh  battalions  and  muni- 
tions of  war. 

The  district  of  Grahovo,  bordering  on  Herzegovina, 
was  the  first  point  of  attack;  and  there,  on  May  13th, 
1858,  some  of  the  choicest  troops  of  the  Turkish  Empire, 
their  breasts  covered  with  French  and  English  Crimean 
decorations,  which  are  now  exhibited  as  trophies  in  the 
arsenal  at  Tzetinie,'  were  as  utterly  routed  01  cut  to 
pieces  by  the  clans  of  the  Black  Mountains,  as  the  En- 
glish army  at  Prestonpans  by  the  Scotch  Highlanders  in 
1745.  An  eye-witness,  who  beheld  the  battle  from  a 
neighboring  hill,  has  given  a  vivid  description  of  the 
charge  of  the  Montenegrin  columns.  ''  They  rushed  furi- 
ously forward,  keeping  up  a  rolling  fire  on  the  enemy. 
When  about  a  pistol  shot  from  the  Turkish  hues,  they 
paused  for  a  few  seconds,  while  each  man  devoutly 
crossed  himself,  looking  up  to  heaven.  Then,  dropping 
their  muskets  and  rifles,  and  drawing  their  handjars  and 
yatagans  ^  (dirks  and  broadswords),  they  threw  them- 
selves headlong  on  the  foe.     It  was  Ascension  Day,  and 

^  The  name  of  the  Montenegrin  village  capital  is  written  sometimes 
Tzetinie,  and  sometimes  Cetinje.  In  either  case  the  pronunciation  is  the 
same,  the  C  in  the  second  fonn  having  the  sound  of  7>,  and  the  j  the  sound 
.f^ 

■  Sir  Gardiner  Wilkinson  speaks  of  tlie  -hanjar^  or  khangiar^  and  the 


3S6  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS. 

at  the  moment  of  closing,  the  various  cries  of  the  Christ- 
ians swelled  into  one  thrilling,  enthusiastic  shout,  which 
rang  cleariy  above  the  roar  of  battle — '  Glory  to  God  in 
the  highest ! '  Neither  the  flashing  volleys  of  cannon 
and  musketry,  nor  the  bristling  hedge  of  bayonets,  nor 
the  long  lines  of  Turkish  intrenchments,  withstood  for 
more  than  a  few  minutes  that  tremendous  shock.  Hard- 
ly was  the  first  onset  over,  when  the  mingled  torrent  of 
the  conquerors  and  the  conquered  went  raving  down  the 
stream  of  fight.  Never  was  victory  more  complete; 
never  were  the  vanquished  more  nearly  annihilated.  The 
Turks  who  escaped  from  the  field  of  battle  mostly  fell 
into  the  Montenegrin  ambuscades  in  the  defiles  through 
which  they  had  marched  on  the  preceding  day."  ^ 

In  this  battle,  according  to  the  official  report  of  Mirko 
Petrovitch,  the  Montenegrin  commander,  to  his  brother, 
Prince  Daniel,  two  Turkish  pashas  and  seven  thousand 
Turks  were  slain ;  eight  pieces  of  artillery,  twelve  hun- 
dred caparisoned  horses,  and  five  hundred  tents  were 
taken ;  while  the  Montenegrin  loss  was  but  forty-seven 
killed  and  about  sixty  wounded.  **The  success  of  the 
Montenegrins  at  Grahovo,"  observes  the  writer  just  cited, 
borrowing  an  expression  from  Lord  Macaulay,  "  was  Cer- 
tainly a  *  victory  of  strange  and  almost  portentous  splen- 
dor.' "  It  fixed  the  admiring  eyes  of  the  civilized  world 
upon  the  little  principality,  and  gave  it  a  firm  standing 
in  the  political  systenj  of  Europe. 

After  Grohovo  the  Turks  would  perhaps  have  been 

yatagatif  or  more  properly  yatakan,  as  the  same  weapon — a  long  knife  for 
cut  and  thrust,  worn  in  the  girdle. — Dalmatia  and  Montenegro,  i.  431. 
1  Edinburgh  Review,  April,  1859,  p.  421; 


MONTENEGRO,  357 

quite  willing  to  let  the  Montenegrins  alone.  But  fighting 
and  plundering  the  Turks  had  been  for  ages  the  constant 
employment  of  those  fierce  mountaineers,  and  their 
marauding  bands  would  no  more  be  restrained  than  the 
overflowing  waters  in  the  floods  of  spring.*  Under  such 
provocation  it  was  inevitable  that  the  Porte  should  recom- 
mence hostilities,  and  in  1862,  the  Turkish  armies,' under 
the  famous  Omer  Pasha,^  again  invaded  the  Montenegrin 
territory.  This  able  leader  was  more  successful  than  his 
predecessors  had  been  four  years  before.  He  made  good 
his  foothold  in  the  principality,  inflicted  great  loss  and 
suffering  upon  the  Montenegrins,  and  seemed  Hkely  to 
effect  a  permanent  conquest  of  some  part  of  their  territory. 
But  Montenegro  was  now  under  the  protection  of  the 
Great  Powers.  Through  their  interposition  the  Turks  re- 
tired, and  the  Montenegrins  were  induced  to  cease  from 

*  At  Mishke,  the  scene  of  a  great  victory  over  the  Turks,  and  the  death 
of  Mustai  Pasha,  Sir  Gardner  Wilkinson  was  hospitably  entertained  at  the 
house  of  a  peasant.  In  the  evening  the  party  was  *'  increased  by  a  visit  from 
some  strangers  of  the  village ;  dusky  mountaineers,  well  known  for  warlike 
deeds ;  who,  sitting  on  wooden  stools,  began  to  talk  of  a  foray  across  the 
border.  ...  *  Is  there  not,'  I  asked,  *  a  truce  at  this  moment,  be- 
tween you  and  the  Turks  of  Herzegovina  ?  '  They  laughed,  and  seemed 
much  amused  at  my  scruples.  *  We  don't  mind  that,'  said  a  stern,  swarthy 
man,  taking  his  pipe  from  his  mouth,  and  shaking  his  head  to  and  fro,  *  they 
are  Turks ;  '  and  all  agreed  that  the  Turks  were  fair  game.  *  Besides, » 
they  said,  *  it  is  only  to  be  a  plundering  excursion ; '  and  they  evidently 
considered  that  any  one  refusing  to  join  in  a  marauding  expedition  into  Tur 
key  at  any  time,  or  in  an  open  attack  during  a  war,  would  be  unworthy  the 
name  of  a  brave  man." — Dalmatia  and  Montenegro,  i.  521. 

*  Omer  Pasha  was  the  son  of  an  Austrian  official  in  Austrian  Croatia,  and 
in  his  youth  became  a  cadet  in  an  Austrian  regiment.  He  ran  away,  crossed 
the  frontier,  turned  Mohammedan,  entered  the  military  service  of  the  Sultan, 
and  rose  to  be  Generalissimo  of  the  Turkish  forces  in  the  Crimean  War.— 
See  the  account  of  him  in  the  New  American  Cyclopedia. 


358  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS, 

their  plundering  inroads,  and  to  live  on  better  terms  with 
their  Moslem  neighbors.  From  that  time  a  great  change 
came  over  the  Montenegrin  people.  They  entered  upon 
a  career  of  peaceful  development  which  has  proved  even 
more  surprising  than  the  fierce  and  stubborn  valor  with 
which  for  so  many  ages  they  withstood  the  Turk. 

The  Principality  of  Montenegro  is  a  part  of  the  old 
Zupania  of  Zenta,.  the  cradle  of  the  Servian  monarchy. 
At  the  breaking  up  of  the  Empire,  this  province  formed 
the  government  of  the  Knez  (Prince)  George  Balsha,  a 
son-in-law  of  Tzar  Lazar,  whose  capital  was  the  city  of 
Zabliak  (Zhabliak),  at  the  north-western  extremity  of 
Lake  Scutari.  This  prince  and  his  successors  bravely 
and  successfully  defended  their  province  against  the  Turks 
for  a  considerable  time.^  The  son  and  successor  of 
George  Balsha  was  the  famous  Stratzimir,  surnamed 
Tzernoie,  or  the  Black.^  The  successor  of  Stratzimir  was 
his  son,  Stephen  Tzernoievitch,  the  contemporary,  it 
would  seem  also  the  brother-in-law,  of  the  famous  Alba- 
nian hero  Scanderbeg,  in  firm  alliance  with  whom  he  held 
his  ground  stoutly  against  the  Turks.  After  the  death  of 
Scanderbeg  the  Servians  of  Zenta  could  no  longer  main- 
tain themselves,  and  Ivan  Tzernoievitch,  the  son  of  Ste- 
phen, found  himself  compelled  to  abandon  the  whole  open 
country.  He  therefore  called  his  followers  about  him,  and 
taking  an  oath  of  them  that  they  would  be  true  to  their 

'  Wilkinson's  Dalmatia  and  Montenegro,  i.  476 ;  The  Slave  Provinces 
of  Turkey  (Bohn),  p.  411.  The  sketch  of  early  Montenegrin  history  given 
by  Sir  Gardner  Wilkinson  was  prepared  for  him  by  the  secretary  of  the 
Vladika,  Peter  II.  The  Zupania  of  Zenta  or  Zeta  included  the  fruitful  plain 
about  Lake  Scutari,  and  the  Herzegovina.  Ot  these  districts  the  Prince  of 
Montenegro  still  considers  himself  the  rightful  sovereign. 

*  Hence  the  appellation  of  the  Tzernoievitch  family. 


MONTENEGRO.  559 

country  and  theii  faith,  he  left  his  "white  castle  of 
Zabliak,"  and  took  refuge  in  the  fastnesses  of  the  Black 
Mountains,  where  he  built  the  monastery  of  Tzetinie,  and 
there,  in  its  last  remaining  stronghold,  erected  the  Ser- 
vian standard  in  1485.^ 

Ivan  Tzernoievitch  was  the  civil  founder  of  the  new 
principality.  He  fixed  its  institutions  and  established  its 
laws.  In  all  "dx^ix  piesmas^  or  national  ballads,  the  Mon- 
tenegrins celebrate  him  as  their  greatest  hero.  In  firm 
alliance  with  Venice,  Ivan,  and  after  him  his  son  George, 
reigned  long  and  prosperously.  But  George  had  married 
a  lady  belonging  to  a  princely  Venetian  house,  and  hav- 
ing no  children,  and  wearying  at  last  of  the  constant  cares 
of  his  troubled  reign,  he  assembled  the  elders  of  his  peo- 
ple, solemnly  made  over  his  authority  to  the  bishop,  and 
retired  to  Venice.  This  occurred  in  1 5 16;  and  from  .this 
date  until  1852,  the  Vladikas,  or  Prince-bishops,  were 
the  sovereigns  of  Montenegro.^  The  Montenegrins  could 
not  forgive  this  desertion  of  their  Prince,  and  in  their 
ancient  ballads  he  is  confounded  with  the  renegade  Ser-  • 
vian  who  founded  the  powerful  family  of  the  Pashas  of 
Scutari,  or  Skadar.^ 

^  Wilkinson,  i.  479. 

'  Id.,  i.  480;  Slave  Provinces,  p.  419.  Valiant  warriors  and  able  com- 
manders, as  many  of  them  proved  themselves,  the  Vladikas  were  all  regular 
caloyers  (monks),  and  bishops  of  the  Greek  communion. 

3  The  Pashas  of  Skadar,  the  semi-independent  sovereigns  of  Northern 
Albania,  became  the  worst  and  most  formidable  enemies  of  Montenegro, 
and  after  a  time  reduced  the  principality  to  great  distress.  This  family 
retained  its  power  until  the  fall,  in  the  year  1833,  of  the  famous  Mustapha 
Pasha,  the  Turk  who  was  sleeping 

"  At  midnight,  in  his  guarded  tent," 
when  his  dreams  were  cut  short  by  Marco  Bozzaris. — The  Slave  Provinces, 
p.  418. 


36o  TURKISH  SLAVONIANS. 

The  marriage  of  Prince  George,  or  Stanisha,  to  a  Ven- 
etian wife,  seems  to  have  been  followed  by  singular  and 
very  tragic  results.  The  story  as  told  in  the  piesmas  is 
evidently  not,  in  all  points,  historically  correct,  but  Is 
doubtless  the  narrative  in  a  poetical  form  of  events  which 
actually  took  place.  The  beginning  of  this  affair  is  thus 
related  by  the  poet : — 

"  The  Tzernoievitch  Ivo  (Ivan)  writes  a  letter  to  the 
Doge  of  great  Venice  :  *  Hearken  to  me,  Doge  !  As  they 
say  that  thou  hast  in  thy  house  the  most  beautiful  of 
roses,  so  there  is  in  my  house  the  handsomest  of  pinks. 
Doge,  let  us  unite  the  rose  with  the  pink,'  The  Venetian 
Doge  replies  in  flattering  terms.  Ivo  repairs  to  his  court, 
taking  with  him  three  loads  of  gold,  in  order  to  woo  the 
fair  Latin  in  his  son's  name.  When  he  had  lavished  all 
his  gold,  the  Latins  agreed  with  him  that  the  wedding 
should  take  place  at  the  next  vintage.  Ivo,  who  was 
wise,  uttered  foolish  words  at  his  departure.  *  Friend 
and  Doge,'  said  he,  *  thou  shalt  soon  see  me  again  with 
six  hundred  chosen  companions ;  and  If  there  is  among 
them  a  single  one  who  is  handsomer  than  my  son  Stan- 
isha, give  me  neither  dower  nor  bride.  The  delighted 
Doge  pressed  his  hand  and  presented  him  with  the  apple 
of  gold.  Ivo  then  returned  to  his  states.  .  .  .  The 
winter  passed  off  cheerfully,  but  in  the  spring  Stanisha 
was  seized  with  the  smallpox,  which  pitted  his  face  all 
over.     When  the  old  man  assembled  his  six  hundred 

The  Pashas  of  Skadar,  or  Skodra,  sumamed  Bushatlia,  boasted  their 
own  descent  from  the  Merlyaftchevitches,  the  family  of  Krai  Vukashine,  the 
guardian,  murderer,  and  successor  of  Urosh,  the  son  of  Stephen  Dushan. 
This  semi-royal  family  no  Sultan  for  centuries  had  been  able  to  displace.— 
Ranke's  Servia,  pp.  285,  335. 


MONTENEGRO,  3^1 

companions  at  the  approach  of  autumn,  it  was  easy  for 
him,  alas  I  to  find  among  them  a  Yunak  handsomer  than 
his  son.  Then  his  forehead  was  gathered  into  wrinkles, 
and  the  black  mustaches  that  reached  to  his  shoulders 
grew  limp."  ^ 

After  his  foolish  boast,  Ivan  did  not  dare  to  present  his 
disfigured  son  to  claim  the  fair  Venetian.  He  there- 
fore proposed  to  his  followers  that  they  should  choose 
the  handsomest  youth  from  their  number  to  take  the 
place  of  the  Prince^  at  the  coming  marriage.  As  his  re- 
ward, the  pseudo  husband  was  to  receive  half  the  mar- 
riage gifts.  The  choice  fell  upon  Djuro,  the  young  Bey 
of  Dulcigno.  The  plan  was  carried  out,  and  the  decep- 
tive marriage  consummated.  But  when  the  party  had 
returned  to  Montenegro,  Djuro  refused  to' fulfill  the  com- 
pact, and  kept  all  the  presents  for  himself  The  bride, 
naturally,  was  not  at  all  satisfied  with  this  state  of  things ; 
and  at  last,  stung  to  madness  by  her  constant  lamenta- 
tions and  reproaches,  Stanisha  sought  out  his  handsome 
rival,  and  with  a  single  blow  of  his  hanjar  laid  him  dead 
at  his  feet. 

The  family  and  followers  of  the  fallen  Bey  held  them- 
selves bound  to  avenge  his  death,  and  a  bloody  and  ex- 
terminating feud  was  the  result,  which  carried  desolation 
to  almost  every  house  in  the  districts  of  the  two  chiefs. 
According  to  the  piesmaSy  Stanisha  and  Obren  Vuk,  the 
successor  of  Djuro,  were  both  finally  compelled  to  leave 
the  country,  and  both,  turning  Mohammedans,  entered 
the  service  of  the  Sultan.  It  is  added  that  after  some 
years  of  valiant  service  they  were  both  rewarded  with 

'•  Slave  Provinces  of  Turkey,  p.  415. 
16 


362  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS, 

important  governments,  which  became  hereditary  in 
their  families;  Stanisha  becoming  Pasha  of  Skadar,  or 
Northern  Albania,  and  Obren  Vuk  Pasha  of  Dukagine, 
near  Ipek.^ 

For  a  long  period,  the  Vladikas  were  not  able  to  hold 
their  own  against  the  Turks  and  the  powerful  Pashas  of 
Skadar.  The  defiles  were  penetrated,  garrisons  were  es- 
tablished within  the  Montenegrin  frontiers,  and  from  the 
villages  within  their  reach  a  small  Kharatch  (capitation 
tax)  was  exacted,  which  was  contemptuously  appropri- 
ated to  pay  for  the  Sultan's  slippers.  For  a  hundred 
years  the  Turks  affected  to  regard  Montenegro  as  a  con- 
quered country,  and  reckoned  it  a  part  of  the  Pashahk  of 
Skadar.  So  powerful  did  the  Turkish  influence  become, 
that  many  of  the  people  in  the  frontier  districts  turned 
Mohammedans,  and  took  military  service  with  the  neigh- 
boring Pashas.^  But  the  country  was  not  subdued. 
The  Montenegrins  were  always  taking  part  with  the  Ve- 
netians in  their  frequent  wars  with  the  Porte,  and  in 
open  warfare,  or  by  incessant  plundei"ing  raids,  they  in- 
flicted incalculable  loss  upon  the  Turks. 

It  is  related  that  on  one  occasion,  when  the  Turkish 
officials  came  to  exact  their  little  tribute  of  corn,  and 
charged  the  Montenegrins  with  cheating  by  measuring 
the  corn  in  bushels  which  were  too  small,  the  exasperated 
mountaineers  broke  the  bushels  over  the  heads  of  the 
astonished  Turks,  and  vowed  thenceforward  to  pay  their 
Kharatch  in  that  coin  alone.  Whether  or  not  that  was 
the  end  of  the  Montenegrin  capitation  tax  does  not  ap- 

1  Slave  Provinces,  pp.  415-19.  *  Wilkinson,  i.  481, 


MONTENEGRO.  363 

pear;  but  in  1703  occurred  an  event  from  which  is  to  be 
dated  the  complete  independence  of  the  principality. 
The  people  of  a  district  upon  the  borders  of  Skadar  had 
obtained  permission  of  the  Pasha  to  build  a  little  church. 
But  when  the  Vladika  Daniel  came  to  consecrate  it,  he 
was  treacherously  seized  by  the  Pasha,  and  released  only 
upon  paying  a  ransom  of  three  thousand  ducats.  The 
Montenegrins  were  not  the  people  to  submit  to  oppression 
like  this  when  they  felt  strong  enough  to  avenge  them- 
selves. No  sooner  had  Daniel  returned  to  Tzetinie,  ac- 
cording to  the  piesmas,  than  he  called  the  tribes  together 
and  told  them  that  the  only  hope  for  their  country  and 
their  faith  lay  in  the  instant  destruction  of  all  the  Turks 
living  among  them.  His  words  were  listened  to  at  first 
with  silent  awe  and  fear,  afterwards  with  fierce  approval, 
and  on  Christmas  eve,  1703,  as  the  piesmas  relate,  every 
Moslem  in  the  principality  who  would  not  forswear  the 
Prophet  and  embrace  Christianity  was  put  to  death  in 
cold  blood.^  This  slaughter  ended  all  semblance  of  Turk- 
ish domination  in  Montenegro.  Soon  after  these  events, 
the  Slavonians  of  the  Black  Mountain  began  to  receive 
effectual  aid  from  their  kindred  in  the  great  Empire  of 
the  North.  In  171 1,  Peter  the  Great  sought  the  alliance 
of  the  Montenegrins  in  his  struggle  with  the  Turks ;  and 
from  that  time  to  the  present  they  have  been  wont  to 
look  up  to  the  Muscovite  Czar  as  not  only  their  pro- 

^  Ranke,  pp.  23,  420.  This  massacre  seems  to  have  been  mostly  lim- 
ited to  one  of  the  four  nahias,  or  provinces,  for  the  reason,  probably,  that 
in  this  alone  was  there  any  considerable  Moslem  population.  The  "  Turks  " 
thus  forcibly  conver*  ;d  or  put  to  death,  were  all,  or  nearly  all,  apostate  Ser 
viaoA. 


364  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS, 

lector  and  friend,  but  as  in  some  sense  their  political 
head.=^ 

From  time  to  time,  for  the  past  two  hundred  and 
seventy-five  years,  the  Turks  have  put  forth  prodigious 
efforts  to  effect  the  complete  subjugation  of  these  fierce 
mountaineers.  In  1623,  Suleiman  Pasha  (3f  Skadar  in- 
vaded Montenegro  with  a  great  army.  He  penetrated 
to  Tzetinie,  burned  the  convent,  and  laid  waste  the  whole 
district,  but  was  compelled  to  retire  with  no  permanent 
result  In  171 2  (according  to  the  piesmas),  enraged  at 
the  alliance  of  the  Montenegrins  with  Peter  the  Great, 
the  Sultan  sent  the  Seraskier  Pasha  against  them  with  an 
army  of  fifty  thousand  men.  This  force  is  said  to  have 
suffered  an  entire  defeat,  leaving  eighty-four  standards  in 
the  hands  of  the  Montenegrins.  For  this  defeat,  how- 
ever, the  Turks  inflicted  a  fearful  retribution.  In  17 14, 
the  Grand  Vizier,  Nauman  Kiuprili,  invaded  the  prin- 
cipality at  the  head  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  thou- 
sand men.  By  treacherously  proposing  terms  pf  peace 
the  Grand  Vizier  was  able  to  seize  and  put  to  death 
thirty-seven  of  the  Montenegrin  chiefs.  Deprived  of 
their  leaders,  the  people  were  able  to  make  but  a  feeble 
resistance.  The  convent  of  Tzetinie  was  again  burned, 
and  the  whole  mountain  was  wasted  with  fire  and  sword. 
But  the  country  was  not  subdued.  No  sooner  had  the 
Turks   departed   than   the   Montenegrins    returned   and 

2  The  Montenegrins  acknowledged  themselves  subjects  of  Peter  the 
Great,  and  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  him.  At  the  time  of  Wilkinson's 
visit,  the  Vladikas  were  still  receiving  pecuniary  subsidies  from  the  Russian 
government,  and  went  to  St.  Petersburg  for  consecration  to  their  ojSice.— 
Dalmatia  and  Montenegro,  i.  448,  456,  482-5. 


MONTENEGRO,  3^ 

rebuilt  their  ruined  villages.  In  a  few  years  the  little 
republic  was  erect  again,  as  resolute  and  defiant  as  before. 

At  length,  in  the  terrible  battle  of  Krussa,  fought  in 
1796,  the  Montenegrins  won  a  great  victory — a  victory 
greater  and  more  *'  portentously  splendid "  than  even 
that  of  Grahovo — over  the  Turks  under  Kara  Mahmoud 
Bushatlia,  Pasha  of  Skadar,  'which  assured  their  position 
and  compelled  the  Porte  to  tacitly  acknowledge  their 
independence.  They  were  led  by  their  Prince-bishop, 
Pietro  Petrovitch,  who,  occupying  a  difficult  pass  with 
five  thousand  marksmen,  silently  drew  the  main  body  of 
his  forces  to  the  rear  of  the  Turks.  For  three  days  the 
battle  was  fiercely  contested,  resulting  at  last  in  the  com- 
plete destruction  of  the  Turkish  army.  Thirty  thousand 
Turks  were  slain,  and  Mahmoud  Bushatlia  himself  fell. 
The  Pasha's  head,  remaining  in  the  Vladika's  hands,  was 
embalmed,  and  is  still  preserved  at  Tzetinie,  a  significant 
trophy  of  this  decisive  repulse  of  the  Moslem  power.^ 
As  a  consequence  of  this  victory,  the  seven  mountains 
of  the  Berda  were  severed  from  the  Pashalik  of  Skadar, 
and  have  ever  since  remained  confederate  with  Mon- 
tenegro, adding  three  more  to  the  four  original  iiahias 
of  the  principality.^  From  that  time,  by  the  common 
consent  of  all  concerned,  Montenegro  has  proudly  taken 
her  place  among  the  independent  states  of  Europe. 

This  result,  however,  was  not  achieved  by  the  strength 
and  valor  of  the  Montenegrins  alone.  Their  mountains 
have  always  afforded  a  ready  and  safe  asylum  to  tlie 
oppressed  Slavonians  of  the  neighboring  Turkish  prov- 
inces.    From  this  source  the  population  of  the  principal- 

'  "Wilkinson,  i,  489-90.         *  Id.,  i.  404 ;  Slave  Provinces,  p.  432. 


366  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS, 

ity  has  been  constantly  recruited.  "  O  Slavonian,  wher-. 
ever  thou  art,"  sings  one  of  their  native  poets,  "  whether 
freeman  or  serf,  rejoice  that  so  long  as  the  Black  Moun- 
tain exists,  thou  hast  liberty  and  a  country  !  "  In  Octo- 
ber, 1875,  twenty  thousand  fugitives  from  Herzegovina 
and  Bosnia  had  sought  and  found  refuge  m  Montenegro.^ 

For  the  past  hundred  years  until  quite  recently  the 
Montenegrins  have  amply  repaid  in  their  own  coin  the 
scorn  and  cruelty  of  their  old  oppressors.  They  have 
kept  up  a  constant  predatory  warfare,  and  Turkish  pris- 
oners were  pretty  sure  to  lose  their  heads,  which  were  set 
up  as  trophies  upon  stakes.  In  1839,  Sir  Gardner  Wil- 
kinson found  the  Montenegrin  capital  garnished  with 
numbers  of  these  ghastly  trophies.^  To  his  humane  and 
earnest  efforts  with  both  parties  it  was  largely  owing  that 
some  years  later  this  practice  of  beheading  prisoners  was 
finally  abandoned. 

The  Montenegrins  are  very  poor.  Until  the  recent 
conquest  of  Scutari  and  Antivari  by  Prince  Nicolas,  the 
Austrian  and  Turkish  territories,  meeting  upon  the  narrow 
strip  of  coast  in  their  front,  cut  them  off  entirely  from  the 
sea.  Although  they  had  here  and  there  a  fine  valley, 
the  greater  part  of  their  old  territory  is  a  mass  of  wild 
and  bleak  mountains,  which  afford  but  the  scantiest  sub- 

^  E.  A.  Freeman,  Littell,  February  12,  1876,  p.  397. 

*  "  On  a  rock  immediately  above  the  convent,  is  a  round  tower  pierced 
with  embrasures,  but  without  cannon,  on  which  I  counted  the  heads  of 
twenty  Turks  fixed  upon  stakes  round  the  parapet,  the  trophies  of  Montene- 
grin victory ;  and  below,  scattered  upon  the  rock,  were  the  fragments  of  other 
skulls,  which  had  fallen  to  pieces  by  time ;  a  strange  spectacle  in  a  Christian 
country,  in  Europe,  and  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  a  convenf  and  a  bishop's 
palace." — ^Wilkinson,  i.  511. 


.    MONTENEGRO,  367 

sistence  to  their  inhabitants.  They  are  exceedingly  clan- 
nish in  their  habits  and  mode  of  Hfe,  a  single  family  with 
its  Stareshina,  or  housefather,  often  forming  an  entire  vil- 
lage. As  among  the  old  Scottish  Highlanders,  fierce  and 
long  enduring  blood  feuds  between  these  clans  have 
always  been  until  recently  of  frequent  occurrence. 

They  are  as  poetical  as  their  neighbors  and  kindred  the 
Servians.  Every  event  in  their  history,  every  exploit  of 
their  male  and  female  heroes,  has  its  own  piesm'a  or  bal- 
lad ^ — the  materials  for  another  Iliad  by  some  future  Sla- 
vonic Homer.  In  no  part  of  the  world,  probably,  is 
there  a  state  of  society  now  existing  which  illustrates  so 
perfectly  the  simple  manners,  the  warfare,  and  indeed  the 
whole  mode  of  life  of  Homeric  Greece.  Of  these  national 
ballads  the  Montenegrins  never  grow  weary,  always  lis- 
ten to  them  with  kindling  eye  and  fierce  enthusiasm. 
They  are  sung  by  day  in  every  gathering,  by  night  in 
every  household  circle,  until  the  Montenegrin  youth  be- 
comes as  familiar  with  them,  and,  through  them,  with  all 

^  "  After  dinner  (at  Ostrok)  it  was  proposed  that  I  should  hear  their 
gUsla,  or  Slavonic  violin,  and  some  of  the  songs  of  their  bards ;  which,  on 
a  frontier  constantly  resounding  with  the  din  of  arms,  are  hailed  with  delight 
by  every  Montenegrin.  Independent  of  the  gratification  of  my  curiosity,  I 
was  .glad  to  have  the  opportunity  of  witnessing  the  stirring  effect  produced 
by  these  songs.  The  subjects  related  to  their  contests  with  their  enemies, 
the  vain  hopes  of  the  Turks  to  subdue  their  country,  and  the  glorious  vic- 
tories obtained  over  them  both  by  themselves  and  the  heroes  of  Servia ;  in 
some  of  which  the  armed  bard  may  have  had  his  share  of  glory.  For,  like 
Taillefer,  the  minstrel  of  William  the  Conqueror,  these  men  are  warrfors ; 
and  no  one  would  venture  to  sing  of  deeds  he  could  not  emulate.  The 
sounds  of  the  gtlsla  were  not  according  to  European  taste,  and  the  tune  was 
only  varied  by  the  intonation  of  the  voice ;  but  the  enthusiasm  of  the  per- 
former compensated  for  the  monotony  of  the  one-stringed  instrument."— 
Wilkinson,  i.  533. 


368  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS, 

the  long  and  eventful  story  of  his  country's  histor>%  as  he 
is  with  his  father's  name. 

While  manifesting  a  strong  regard  for  their  Church 
and  its  rites,  the  Montenegrins  were  too  ignorant  and  too 
fierce  to  be  very  religious,  even  in  the  way  of  supersti- 
tion. Yet  every  little  department  of  the  country  had  its 
own  church,  and  the  few  monks  and  more  numerous 
popes  or  priests  were  generally  men  of  strict  and  austere 
lives.  The  priests  were  just  as  warli-ke  as  their  flocks, 
and  constantly  attended  them  to  the  field  of  battle ;  but, 
that  their  hands  might  not  be  stained  with  blood,  they 
usually  contented  themselves  with  weapons  of  wood. 
Like  the  Vladikas,  however,  some  of  their  priests  have 
been  among  their  bravest  warriors  and  most  famous 
heroes.^ 

The  Prince-bishops  who  reigned  in  Montenegro  for 
the  hundred  and  fifty  years  ending  with   185 1,  were  for 

^  "  Another  hour  brought  us  to  Podbiikovo.  ...  In  this  straggling 
village  we  stopped  to  lunch,  at  the  house  of  a  reverend  captain  of  the 
guards  ;  for,  like  other  military  chiefs  of  Montenegro,  he  was  a  priest,  and 
united,  as  of  old,  the  two  offices  of  killing  bodies  and  saving  souls." — Wil- 
kinson, i.  516. 

At  Ostrok,  near  the  northern  or  Herzegovinian  frontier,  ''  an  elderly 
priest  came  in,  a  man  of  quiet  demeanor,  who  asked  me  various  questions, 
some  of  which  I  in  vain  attempted  to  understand.  ...  I  was  fortunately 
relieved  from  my  embarrassment  by  the  arrival  of  Signor  Giacovich,  who 
performed  for  me  the  office  of  interpreter.  He  also  gave  me  to  understand 
that  the  reverend  priest,  Pope  Yovan,  or  Ivan  Knezovich,  was  the  most 
renowned  and  gallant  warrior  of  Montenegro ;  and  the  same  who  twenty 
years  ago  had  defended  the  convent  of  Moraga  with  two  hundred  men 
against  twenty  thousand  Albanians.  'He  lives,'  he  added,  'in  the  very 
midst  of  the  Turks,  in  the  neighborhood  of  SpAss  ;  and  he  has  fought  and 
defeated  them  in  many  battles,  without  ever  having  been  wounded ;  though 
balls  have  struck  his  pistols  and  his  dress,  and  numbers  have  fallen  at  his 
side.*    ...      It  was  pleasing  to  see  the  mild,  unassuming  manner  of  the 


MONTENEGRO,  369 

the  most  part  an  able  and  commanding  set  of  men.  The 
last  of  them  was  Peter  II.,  the  friend  and  host  of  Sir 
Gardner  Wilkinson  in  1839.  In  him,  certainly,  the  long 
and  distinguished  line  came  to  a  worthy  close.  In  no 
European  of  modern  times,  probably,  has  the  true 
Homeric  hero  ever  been  so  perfectly  exemplified  as  in 
this  last  of  the  Vladikas.  He  was  at  once  the  champion, 
hero,  legislator,  king,  poet,  teacher,  and  father  of  his 
people.*  A  well  formed  and  handsome  man,  six  feet  and 
eight  inches  in  height,  he  stood,  like  Saul  among  the 
Israelites,  the  goodliest  of  his  race.  No  soldier  of  his 
guards  could  point  a  rifle  or  a  cannon  with  more  uner- 
ring aim  than  he,  while  he  alone,  probably,  among  them 
all,  could  throw  a  lemon  into  the  air  and  pierce  it  while 
falling  with  a  pistol  ball. 

Educated  in  Dalmatia  and  Russia,  he  was  a  man  of 
culture  and  intelligence,  well  acquainted  with  European 
politics,  and  an  able  diplomatist.  His  foreign  education, 
however,  had  in  no  degree  diminished  his  patriotic  spirit. 
He  was  Slavonian,  Servian,  Montenegrin  through  and 
through.  He  loved  the  minstrelsy  of  his  native  land, 
and  by  his  own  songs  and  ballads  had  won  a  high  posi- 
tion among  the  Servian  bards  of  his  time.  His  whole 
life  was  given,  with  a  devotion  as  wise  and  patient  as  it 
was  earnest  and  successful,  to  the  elevation  and  improve- 
ment of  his  people.  Roads  were  opened,  schools  were 
established ;  a  senate  of  twelve  or  sixteen  of  the  leading 

old  warrior,  so  consistent  with  real  courage ;  and  when,  on  my  return  to 
Tzetinie,  I  told  the  Vladika  of  my  meeting  him  at  Ostrok,  his  expressions  of 
regard  for  him  showed  the  high  estimation  in  which  he  is  held  throughout 
the  country." — Id.,  i.  pp.  530-2. 

*  Wilkinson,  i.  460-71 ;  Slave  Provinces,  pp.  447-8. 

i6» 


37t>  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS, 

chiefs  was  instituted  with  judicial  as  well  as  legislative 
functions;  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  inferior  officials 
were  armed  with  judicial  and  executive  powers  in  the 
several  districts;  there  were  forty  captains,  or  pretors, 
who  acted  as  provincial  judges,  and  eight  hundred 
guards  served  as  a  general  police  throughout  the  prin- 
cipality. 

The  Vladika  himself  was  High-priest,  Chief-justice, 
Legislator,  King,  and  Commander-in-chief  Under  the 
firm  and  able  government  of  Peter  II.  the  condition  of 
the  principality  rapidly  improved.  The  old  barbarian 
customs — among  which  the  lex  talionis  and  blood  revenge 
had  been  as  prominent  and  as  universally  prevalent  as 
among  the  Arabs  of  the  desert — which  before  had  been 
the  only  law,  gradually  gave  place  to  legal  enactments 
and  regular  judicial  proceedings;^  while  the  inveterate 
propensity  of  these  wild  mountaineers  to  harry  and 
plunder  their  neighbors  was  to  some  extent  curbed  and 
held  in  check. 

The  predecessor  of  Peter  (Pietro  Petrovitch)  II.  was 
Peter  I.,  the  hero  of  Krussa,  whose  long  reign  of  fifty- 
three  years,  from  1777  to  1830,  was  perhaps  the  most 
memorable  in  the  annals  of  Montenegro.     Peter  (Pietro 

*  "  The  rude  patriarchal  justice  of  the  chieftains  and  elders  of  the  tribe 
has  been  collected  and  embodied ;  and  the  Montenegrins  (happy  people  ! ) 
have  justice  administered  to  them  by  their  prince  according  to  the  provi- 
sions of  a  code  oi  eighty -nine  articles.  The  Montenegrin  code  has  acquired 
great  fame  and  popularity  among  the  Christians  of  the  neighboring  Otto- 
man provinces.  The  people  of  Herzegovina  especially  now  very  generally 
refer  their  disputes  for  arbitration  to  Tzetinie,  instead  of  trusting  to  what  is 
facetiously  termed  the  justice  of  the  Turkish  cadis." — Edinburgh  Review, 
April,  1859,  p.  247,  and  note. 


MONTENEGRO,  37J 

Petrovitch)  I.  is  now  the  patron  saint  of  MontenegrO: 
venerated,  almost  worshipped,  by  the  whole  body  of  his 
countrymen.  Well  were  it,  certainly,  if  all  the  saints  in 
the  calendar  had  given  as  good  grounds  for  their  can- 
onization. When  asked  why  they  render  such  homage 
to  St.  Peter,  the  simple-hearted  mountaineers  reply : 
"There  are  still  with  us  men  who  lived  under  St  Peter's 
rule,  heard  his  words,  and  saw  his  life.  For  fifty  years 
he  governed  us,  and  fought  and  negotiated  for  us,  and 
walked  before  us  in  pureness'and  uprightness  from  day 
to  day.  He  gave  us  good  laws,  and  put  an  end  to  the 
disorderly  state  of  the  country  ;  he  enlarged  our  frontier, 
and  drove  away  our  enemies ;  even  on  his  death-bed  he 
spoke  words  to  our  elders  which  have  kept  peace  among 
us  since  he  is  gone.  While  he  yet  lived  we  swore  by 
his  name ;  we  felt  his  smile  a  blessing,  and  his  anger  a 
curse  ;  we  do  so  still."  ^ 

The  government  of  Montenegro  is  properly  a  primitive 
democracy,  under  the  leadership  of  nominally  elective, 
but  really  hereditary  chiefs.  The  people,  all  armed,  and 
as  free  in  spirit  as  the  Bedouins  of  the  desert,  have  no 
doubt  whatever  of  their  right  to  a  voice  in  every  impor- 
tant measure.  Under  the  Vladikas  this  right  was  exer- 
cised in  frequent  assembHes.  All  official  proceedings  were 
marked  by  the  most  primitive  simplicity.  The  senate- 
house  was  an  oblong  stone  building  of  one  story,  covered 
with  thatch.  It  contained  three  rooms ;  one  used  as  a 
stable  for  oxen  arid  donkeys ;  a  second  filled  with  bed- 
steads covered  with  straw  for  the  use  of  the  senators, 
whoce  rifles  hung  suspended  upon  the  walls ;  and  a  third, 
^  Mackenzie  and  Irby,  p.  622. 


372  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS, 

which  was  the  court-room  or  senate-house.  In  the  mid- 
dle of  this  room  was  a  fireplace,  and  round  the  walls 
ran  a  stone  bench.  The  Vladika,  when  present,  occupied 
a  seat  on  the  bench  covered  with  a  rug.  The  senators 
sat  on  the  bench  or  on  low  wooden  stools  about  the  fire- 
place, smoking  their  pipes.  ^ 

The  Diet,  or  general  assembly  of  the  people,  was  held 
in  the  open  air.  The  place  and  the  deliberations  of  this 
assembly  are  thus  described  by  Wilkinson  :  "  In  a  semi- 
circular recess,  formed  by  the  rocks  on  one  side  of  the 
plain  of  Tzetinie,  and  about  half  a  mile  to  the  southward 
of  the  town,  is  a  level  piece  of  grass  land  with  a  thicket 
of  low  poplar  trees.  Here  the  Diet  is  held,  from  which 
the  spot  has  received  the  name  of  mali  sbor,  *  the  small 
assembly.'  When  any "  matter  is  to  be  discussed,  the 
people  meet  in  this,  their  Runimede^  or  *  meadow  of 
council ; '  and  partly  on  the  level  space,  partly  on  the 
rocks,  receive  from  the  Vladika  notice  of  the  question 
proposed.  The  duration  of  the  discussion  is  limited  to 
a  certain  time ;  at  the  expiration  of  which  the  assembly- 
is  expected  to  come  to  a  decision ;  and  when  the  mon- 
astery's bell  orders  silence,  notwithstanding  the  most 
animated  discussion,  it  is  instantly  restored.  The  Metro- 
politan (Vladika)  asks  again  what  is  their  decision,  and 
whether  they  agree  to  his  proposal  or  not."  The  answer 
is  always  the  same,  *  Let  it  be  as  thou  wishest,  Vladika.'  "  ^ 

When    Peter   II.   died,  in  185 1,   his   nephew.  Prince 

^  Slave  Provinces,  p.  449. 

2  Dalmatia  and  Montenegro,  i.  456.  On  the  20th  of  February,  1875,  the 
first  fugitives  from  Herzegovina  found  the  whole  armed  population  of  Mon- 
tenegro assembled  in  council  at  Tzetinie. — Consular  Report  in  London 
Mail,  December  15,  1875. 


MONTENEGRO,  373 

Danilo,  or  Daniel,  was  pursuing  his  studies  at  Vienna. 
While  returning  home,  he  chanced  to  fall  in  with  a  fair 
young  countrywoman  at  Trieste,  for  whom  he  conceived 
a  strong  attachment.  This  circumstance  so  opened  his 
eyes  to  the  evils  of  uniting  civil  and  ecclesiastical  powers 
in  the  same  hands,  that  he  determined  to  separate  them. 
He  accordingly  married,  and  became  simply  Knez,  or 
prince,  leaving  his  ecclesiastical  honors  to  another.  His 
matrimonial  choice  proved  most  happy,  and  his  noble 
wife,  the  Princess  Darinka,  soon  came  to  be  revered  in 
all  the  Servian  lands  as  a  wise  and  energetic  promoter  of 
every  good  cause.  Prince  Daniel  proved  fully  worthy  to 
fill  the  place  of  Peter  I.  and  Peter  H. ;  and  under  his  rule 
his  people  enjoyed  great  prosperity.  His  reign,  unhap- 
pily, was  short.  He  was  shot  by  an  assassin  in  i860,  at 
Cattaro,  whither  he  had  attended  his  wife,  that  she  might 
have  the  benefit  of  sea  baths.  ^ 

Mirko,  the  hero  of  Grahovo,^  was  the  elder  brother  of 
Prince  Daniel,  and  as  such,  upon  the  death  of  Peter  I., 
was  entitled  to  the  succession.  He  was,  however,  only  a 
stern,  uncultured  warrior,  while  he  felt  that  his  country 
had  need  of  a  prince  of  European  education.  He  accord- 
ingly waived  his  own  claims  in  favor  of  his  brother.  Prince 
Daniel  left  no  son>  and  Mirko  was  again  entitled  to  the 
succession.  For  the  same  reason  as  before  he  again  de- 
clined, and  his  son,  Nicolas,  or  Nikita,  was  crowned  in 
his  uncle's  room.     Prince  Nicolas  still  rules  in  Montene- 

*  Mackenzie  and  Irby,  p.  593. 

*  In  1863,  Mirko  was  President  of  the  Montenegrin  Senate.  In  this 
capacity  he  might  be  seen  every  day,  sitting  in  the  door  of  a  house  judging 
the  people.  From  his  decisions  an  appeal  lay  to  the  Gospodar,  or  prince, 
who  was  often  present,  walking  up  and  down. — Mackenzie  and  Irby,  p,  62$. 


374  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS, 

gro,  and  under  no  one  of  his  predecessors,  probably,  has 
the  principaHty  ever  enjoyed  greater  prosperity,  or  ad- 
vanced with  such  rapid  strides  in  the  culture  of  a  true 
civilization.^ 

The  long  succession  of  wise  and  able  princes  who  have 
ruled  this  little  principaHty  for  the  past  hundred  years  is 
one  of  the  marvels  of  recent  history.  Prince  Nicolas 
seems  to  be  inferior  to  no  one  of  his  predecessors,  and 
to  have  filted  his  most  difficult  position,  since  the  break- 
ing out  of  the  revolt,  with  a  wisdom  and  firmness  which 
have  deservedly  won  him  the  respect  and  confidence  of 
the  statesmen  of  Europe,  The  special  correspondent  of 
the  London  Times,  a  man  of  large  intelligence  and  ex- 
cellent judgment,  who  was  with  him  much,  and  knew 
him  well  in  the  last  months  of  1875,  speaks  of  him  in 
the  very  highest  terms.  His  ambition  seemed  less  for 
himself  than  for  his  country,  less  for  Montenegro  than 
for  the  Servian  race.  He  seemed  willing  to  accept  any 
position  for  himself,  even  to  surrender  the  independence 
of  his  principality,  so  that  the  grand  possibilities  of  the 
Servian  future  might  be  assured.  "  No  European  Power," 
he  observes,  "has  anything  to  fear  from  his  weakness, 
or  his  ambition ;  and  no  Power,  whether  Russia,  or  any 
other,  will  make  him  the  instrument  of  any  ulterior  pur- 
poses. I  have  never  met  a  character  more  admirably 
fitted  for  a  position  such  as  seems  to  be  preparing  for 
some  potentate,  than  that  of  Prince  Nikita."  ^ 

The   change   through  which  the  people  of  this  little 

*  Lady  Strangford,  p.  137;  Freeman,  in  Littell,  February  12,  1876,  pp. 
394-5 ;  Mackenzie  and  Irby,  pp.  563-61 1. 

•  London  Mail,  Dec  6,  1875. 


MONTENEGRO,  375 

«tate  have  passed  in  the  last  thirty  years  is  very  great 
Within  that  period  they  have,  indeed,  taken  the  long 
step  from  a  barbarous  to  a  civilized  state  of  society. 
They  are  no  longer  the  marauding,  cattle-lifting  heyducs^ 
which  Sir  Gardner  Wilkinson  found  them  in  1839.  Law 
and  order  have  taken  the  place  of  blood  feuds  and  the 
lex  talionis.  Very  tolerable  roads  have  been  carried  in 
all  directions  over  the  precipitous  mountains ;  the  dwell- 
ings of  the  peasants  begin  to  display  the  comforts  and 
conveniences  of  civiHzed  life ;  the  post-office  and'  the 
newspaper  have  long  been  established  institutions.  But 
the  most  surprising  and  most  gratifying  progress  has 
been  manifest  in  the  multiplication  of  schools,  and  the 
general  education  of  the  children.  An  excellent  girls' 
school  has  been  established  at  Tzetinie,  to  which  young 
women  are  drawn  even  from  the  shores  of  the  Gulf;  and 
Mr.  Freeman  affirms  that  as  the  older  generation  passes 
away,  every  man  and  woman  in  Montenegro  will  be  able 
to  read  and  write.^ 

^  Heyduc  is  the  Slavonian  equivalent  for  the  Greek  Kkpht^  or  robber. 
Forty  years  ago  the  Montenegrins  gloried  in  the  title  oi  hey  dues,  v\rhich  pro- 
perly belonged  to  them  all.  Now,  '*  robbery  of  every  kind  is  utterly  come 
to  an  end ;  -there  is  no  part  of  the  world  where  property  is  safer,  or  where 
the  traveler  may  go  with  less  risk  of  danger,  than  within  the  bounds  of 
Montenegro." — Freeman,  Littell,  Feb.  12, 1876,  p.  390. 

"  They  have  another  virtue  besides  this  simplicity  of  life — this  is  their 
perfect  honesty.  I  happened  to  mention  that  I  had  dropped  a  gold  bracelet 
in  Albania.  '  Had  you  dropped  it  here,  even  in  the  remotest  corner  of 
the  Black  Mountain,  it  would  have  b^en  brought  to  me  in  three  days,' 
said  the  prince.  I  am  sure  this  was  not  mere  talk,  for  I  heard  it  con- 
firmed by  enemies  as  well  as  friends  ol  the  Montenegrins." — Lady  Strang- 
ford,  p.  171. 

2  Littell,  Feb.  12,  1876,  p.  391.  Since  these  words  were  written,  two 
years  of  constant  and  desperate  fighting  have  sadly  demoralized  Montenegrio 
society. 


17 


376  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS. 

llie  Montenegrins  are  a  nation  of  soldiers,  every  man 
trained  to  arms,  ready  for  the  field  at  a  moment's  notice, 
and,  if  the  Turk  is  the  foe  to  be  met,  fiercely  eager  for 
the  fray.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the  late  insurrection  it 
was  exceedingly  difficult  to  hold  them  back  from  going 
to  the  help  of  their  struggling  brethren  in  Herzegovina, 
and,  if  allowed  to  have  their  own  way,  they  would  have 
made  short  work  with  the  Turks  in  that  province.  In 
the  struggle  which  followed,  the  Servians  failed,  but  the 
Montenegrins,  under  their  able  and  heroic  prince,  have 
fully  maintained  their  old  renown. 

From  highest  to  lowest,  these  simple  people  are  great 
lovers  of  hospitality.  The  stranger  is  always  welcome, 
and  may  be  sure  that  his  host  will  entertain  him  with 
the  best  the  house  affords,  and  guard  and  defend  him 
even  at  the  hazard  of  his  own  life.  Another  sterHng 
and  universal  virtue  is  a  sacred  regard  for  the  honor  of 
women.  Violations  of  the  law  of  chastity  are  very  rare, 
and  always  severely  punished.  "The  forms  and  fea- 
tures of  the  maidens  of  the  Black  Mountain  are  often 
cast  in  Nature's  best  mould ;  but  early  exposure  to  the 
sun  and  wind,  and  a  fare  as  hard  as  the  incessant  toil  to 
which  they  are  condemned,  almost  from  their  cradles, 
soon  nip  their  beauty  in  its  bud.  Like  other  high- 
landers,  the  Montenegrins  devolve  almost  all  manual 
occupations  upon  their  women,  except  the  labors  of  war, 
of  the  chase,  and  of  agriculture  (that  is,  the  actual  tilling 
of  the  soil).  Nor  do  the  women  repine  at  their  lot.  Tall 
and  strong,  they  may  be  seeiv  cheerfully  toiling  up  the 
steepest  ascents,  or  stepping  nimbly  along  the  verge  of 
precipices,  under  such  loads  of  corn  or  firewood  as  men 


MONTENEGRO,  377 

seldom  carry  in  other  countries ;  while,  as  if  they  did  not 
feel  their  enormous  burdens,  they  hold  their  distaffs  in 
their  hands,  and  chat  gayly  together  as  they  spin."^  Nor 
have  these  stout-hearted  Montenegrin  women  been  at 
all  careful  to  limit  themselves  to  the  labors  of  peace.  In 
many  a  fierce  conflict  with  the  Turks,  they  have  left  the 
distaff  for  the  rifle  and  the  yatagan,  and  fought  right 
valiantly  by  the  side  of  their  husbands  and  sons. 

Such  is  this  strange  and  wonderful  little  state,  the  liv- 
ing relic  of  an  age  and  order  of  things  long  since  passed 
away,  and  clothed  in  everything  pertaining,  either  to  its 
past  history  or  its  present  condition,  with  the  most  fascina- 
ting interest.  It  can  hardly  be  that  before  this  proud  and 
ancient  principality  there  should  not  lie  some  worthy 
destiny  yet  to  be  realized  in  the  future.  In  conjunction 
with  its  younger  sister,  the  principality  of  Servia,  it  may 
yet  prove  the  nucleus  about  which  the  whole  South  Sla- 
vonic race  shall  gather  into  one  free  and  powerful  state. 
Certain  it  is  that  if  things  were  allowed  to  take  their 
natural  course,  the  whole  Slavic  population  of  Turkey 
in  Europe  would  soon  be  ranged  under  the  banners  of 
these  two  principalities.  The  ultimate  issue  of  this  two- 
fold development  may  have  been  foreshadowed  in  the 
memorable  words  addressed  by  Prince  Daniel  to  Prince 
Milosh  of  Servia :  "  Prince,  go  forward,  and  I  also  will  go 
forward.  Whenever  our  ways  meet,  trust  me  for  being 
the  first  to  hail  you  as  Czar  of  the  Serbs ;  "  excepting 
that,  in  accordance  with  the  present  judgment  of  the  civil- 
ized world,  the  coming  "  Tzar  of  all  the  Servian  lands  " 
ought  to  be,  not  the  less  competent   Prince  who  now 

*  Edinburgh  Review,  April,  1859,  p.  240. 


378  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS. 

reigns  in  Servia,  but  Nicolas  Petrovitch  of  Tzernogora, 
the  heroic  scion  of  a  heroic  race,  the  direct  and  true 
representative  of  the  ancient  glory  of  the  Servian  name 
and  the  imperial  dominion  of  Stephen  Dushan. 


CHAPTER  V. 


THE  SERVIAN  REVOLUTION. 

The  Principality  of  Servia  lies  between  the  Danube 
on  the  north  and  the  Balkan  Mountains  on  tie  south, 
Bulgaria  proper  on  the  east  and  Bosnia  on  the  west.  Its 
territory  measures  about  one  hundred  and  sixty  miles  in 
length  from  north  to  south,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  in  breadth  from  east  to  west.  Its  population  is 
reckoned  at  about  one  million  of  souls.  Yet  so  secluded 
is  it  in  the  heart  of  the  Turkish  dominions,  and  so  little 
has  it  been  brought  into  communication  with  the  Chris- 
tian nations  of  the  West,  that  many  very  intelligent 
persons  are  still  in  ignorance  of  the  fact  that  the 
Servians  present  the  first  example  of  an  ancient  Chris- 
tian people  revolting  successfully  against  Mohammedan 
oppression ;  and  that  for  seventy  years,  with  one  brief 
interval  of  defeat  and  disaster,  they  have  maintained 
themselves  in  essential  independence  of  the  Turkish 
government.  Preceding  the  Greeks  in  their  revolt  by 
fifteen  years,  and  far  more  successful  than  they,  as 
well  in  their  revolutionary  struggle  as  in  political  or- 
ganization and  self-government,  the  Servians  have  now 
for  a  long  time  held  an  acknowledged  place  in  the 
political  system  of  Europe,  and  seem  to  be  perma- 
nently established  as  an  independent  people. 


38o  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS, 

The  Turkish  conquest  served  not  so  much  to  enslave 
and  degrade  the  great  body  of  the  Servian  people  as  to 
produce  a  complete  suspension  of  their  political  life.  They 
sank  into  a  helpless  multitude  of  unarmed  rayaks,  whom 
their  contemptuous  masters  tyrannized  over  and  trampled 
upon  at  their  pleasure.  Still,  there  was  much  in  their 
circumstances  favorable  to  the  preservation  of  their  nation- 
al spirit.  The  Turks  ^  were  mostly  confined  to  the  towns, 
while  the  Servians  lived  by  themselves  in  the  retired  vil- 
lages of  the  country.  The  Turks,  especially  in  later 
times,  had  little  disposition,  in  fact  were  not  allowed,  to 
roam  at  will  about  the  country,  while  the  Servians  had 
good  reason  for  avoiding  the  towns.  Many  Servians 
lived  to  old  age  without  ever  setting  foot  in  the  towns  of 
their  own  neighborhood.^  The  two  classes  were  thus 
kept  in  great  measure  apart,  the  rayaks  paying  their 
taxes,  and  living,  under  their  own  village  elders,  in  com- 
parative peace. 

The  so-called  Turks,  who  held  the  Servians  in  subjec- 
tion, were  of  three  classes.  First,  there  were  the  Pashas 
and  other  high  officials,  who  received  their  appointment 
from  Constantinople.  Secondly,  there  were  the  janiza- 
ries of  Belgrade,  originally  the  garrison  of  that  important 
city  and  fortress,  but  which,  here  as  elsewhere,  had  grown 
into  a  powerful  military  caste;  and  thirdly,  there  was 
the  large   body  of  Moslem  landholders — Begs,^  Aghas, 

^  Or  rather  Moslems,  for  the  "Turks"  of  Servia  were  mostly  the  de- 
scendants of  apostate  Servians. 

2  Ranke,  p.  34. 

3  <'Beg"  is  the  Turkish  form  of  the  word;  **Bey"  is  the  Anglicized 
form  of  the  samtf  title. — Mackenzie  and  Irby,  p.  345. 


THE  SERVIANS  UNDER  THE  TURKS,  381 

and  Spahis,  or  Timariots — whose  estates  were  scattered 
throughout  the  province,  and  who  were  nearly  all  of 
Slavonic  descent.  As  elsewhere  throughout  the  Em- 
pire, the  Servian  Spahis  had  no  feudal  jurisdiction 
over  their  estates,  but  were  simply  men-at-arms,  to 
be  supported  by  their  tenant  rayahs,  that  they  might 
be  always  in  readiness  to  follow  the  standard  of  the 
Sultan.     ' 

In  all  the  Slavonian  provinces  of  European  Turkey,  it 
has  been  the  pecuHar  hardship  of  the  Christians,  who 
have  long,  if  not  always,  formed  a  majority  of  the  popu- 
lation, to  be  held  in  subjection  by  local  tyrants  of  their 
own  blood.  When  the  country  first  yielded  to  Turkish 
supremacy,  the  Sultans  treacherously  offered  the  most 
favorable  terms  to  the  princes  and  nobles  who  would  sub- 
mit to  their  authority.  As  in  the  case  of  Stephen  Lazar- 
evitch,  they  were  permitted  to  retain  their  positions  and 
their  religion,  and  to  serve  as  Christian  allies  in  the  Tur- 
kish armies,  upon  the  payment  of  a  moderate  tribute. 
Large  bodies  of  Christian  troops  thus  came  to  be  enrolled 
under  the  Ottoman  banners.  But  no  sooner  was  the 
power  of  the  Turks  firmly  established  than  the  mask  was 
thrown  off.  Nobles  and  people  alike  were  compelled  to 
abjure  their  faith  or  to  surrender  their  arms  and  descend 
to  the  ignoble  and  helpless  condition  of  rayahs.  Already 
demoralized  by  the  Turkish  military  service,  great  num- 
bers of  the  Christian  soldiers  chose  the  former  alternative, 
forsook  their  people  and  their  religion,  and  became,  ac- 
cording to  their  rank,  Turkish  Begs,  Aghas,^  or  Timari- 

^  The  Turkish  Beg  or  Agha  was  simply  a  landholder  or  local  magnate 
answering  ne.\rly  to  the  English  squire  or  lord  of  the  manor. 


382  TURKISH  SLA  VONTANS. 

Ots.  It  was  the  extortion  and  tyranny  of  these  Slavonian 
landlords  which  proved  the  immediate  cause  of  the  late 
insurrection  in  Plerzegovina.' 

The  train  of  events  which  resulted  in  Servian  inde- 
pendence dates  back  to  the  war  which  broke  out  be- 
tween the  Austrians  and  the  Turks  in  1788.  The  Em- 
peror Joseph  had  already  taken  the  Servian  Patriarchate 
under  his  protection,  when,  in  the  year  just  named,  he 
declared  war  upon  the  Turks  with  the  avowed  purpose 
of  driving  them  from  Europe,  ''to  revenge  mankind  on 
those  barbarians."  ^  *  As  an  important  means  to  the  end 
in  view,  he  organized,  armed,  and  disciplined  a  strong 
body  of  Servian  refugees,  who  did  excellent  service  in  the 
war.  The  Austrians  were  entirely  successful.  The  Turks 
were  everywhere  defeated,  a  large  part  of  Servia  was  torn 
from  their  grasp,  and  the  Servians  fully  believed  that  the 
day  of  their  deliverance  had  come.  Their  hopes,  how- 
ever, were  doomed  to  bitter  disappointment.  The  suc- 
cess of  Austria  awakened  the  jealousy  of  the  other  Euro- 
pean Powers,  and  the  tremendous  movements  of  the 
French  Revolution,  just  then  beginning,  compelled  the 
sovereigns  of  Eastern  Europe,  giving  up  all  ideas  of  for- 
eign conquest,  to  look  to  the  preservation  of  their  own 
power.  The  result  was,  that,  without  a  thought  for  the 
unhappy  Christians  just  rescued  from  Turkish  tyranny, 
the  conquered  territory  was  restored  and  Servia  given 
back  to  its  chains. 

But  the   spell  of  Turkish  authority  had  been  broken, 

^  See  an  able  and  valuable  Consular  Report  in  the  London  Mail  foi 
December  15,  1875. 
2  Ranke,  p.  58. 


THE  RA  YAffS  ARMED.  383 

never  to  be  restored.  When  the  Turks  came  back  to  re- 
occupy  their  cities  and  strongholds,  with  amazement  and 
dismay  they  saw  march  out  of  them  a  powerful  body  of 
their  old  despised  rayahs,  with  the  arms,  the  discipline, 
and  the  proud  bearing  of  a  Christian  soldiery.  *'  Neigh- 
bors," cried  one  of  them,  '.'  what  have  you  made  of  our 
rayahs  ?  ''^  This  was  a  germ  fronf  which  most  important 
results  were  to  spring;  and  events  soon  transpired  which 
nourished  it  into  sudden  and  unexpected  growth. 

A  profound  sense  of  the  helpless  weakness  of  the 
Turkish  government  before  the  stronger  forces  of  the 
West  and  North,  inspired  by  a  long  succession  of  reverses 
and  disasters,  impelled  Sultan  Selim,  just  at  the  close  of 
the  last  century,  to  enter  upon  his  great  project  of 
"  reform."  ^  This  project  involved  the  complete  reorgan- 
ization of  both  the  military  and  political  systems  of  the 
Empire.  What  concerns  our  present  purpose  is,  that  the 
old  janizaries  and  irregular  cavalry  were  to  be  superseded 
by  a  regular  army,  equipped  and  disciplined  in  the  Euro- 
pean manner.  But  the  janizaries  were  not  to  be  so  easily 
supplanted.  This  ancient  and  famous  body  now  num- 
bered a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  registered  members, 
who  were  scattered  as  permanent  garrisons  in  all  the 
principal  cities  of  the  Empire.  Allowed  to  marry,  and  to 
engage,  for  the  support  of  their  families,  in  the  various 
avocations  of  trade,  they  had  long  forgotten  their  military 
duties,  and  had  grown  up  into  a  wealthy  and  powerful 
military  caste.^  The  janizaries  of  the  Barbary  States  had 
already  thrown  off  their  allegiance  to  the  Sultan  and  ele^ 

*  Ranke,  p.  6a  *  Upham's  Ottoman  Empire,  L  307. 

»  Ranke,  pp.  64,  66. 


384  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS, 

vated  their  leaders  to  supreme  power.  With  the  inau- 
guration of  the  new  project  of  reform,  the  division  of 
janizaries  established  at  Belgrade,  the  capital  of  Servia, 
assumed  a  similar  rebellious  attitude. 

Thus,  at  the  very  outset  of  their  national  movement, 
the  Servians  had  the  good  fortune  to  find  their  enemies 
fatally  divided  against  themselves.  The  Pashas  and 
Spahis  sided  with  the  government  and  sympathized  with 
the  Christians ;  the  janizaries  were  in  rebellion  against 
the  government,  and  desired  only  to  plunder  its  subjects 
and  establish  their  own  power.  Soon  after  the  close  of 
the  Austrian  war  the  Pasha  of  Belgrade  received  an  im- 
perial firman  commanding  the  janizaries  to  leave  the  city 
and  the  province.  The  Spahis  rallied  strongly  to  the 
Pasha's  support,  and,  after  the  treacherous  assassination 
of  the  leader  of  the  janizaries,  the  order  was  promulgated 
and  enforced.  After  this,  under  the  mild  and  paternal 
rule  of  their  Pasha,  Hadji  Mustapha,  the  Servians  enjoyed 
a  short  season  of  great  quiet  and  prosperity. 

At  this  time,  however,  the  famous  Osman  Pasvan  Oglu, 
a  formidable  rebel,  who,  but  for  his  opportune  death  in 
the  year  1 800  might  perhaps  have  overturned  the  Otto- 
man throne,^  was  at  the  height  of  his  power  as  the  leader 
and  chanipion  of  the  imperiled  order  of  the  janizaries  in 
every  part  of  the  Empire.  Pasvan  was  master,  and  at 
length,  by  the  enforced  consent  of  the  Porte,  Pasha  and 
Vizier  of  Widdin,  an  important  city  on  the  Danube,  just 
over  the  Servian  border  in  Bulgaria.  With  Pasvan  Oglu 
the  expelled  janizaries  of  Belgrade  found  refuge ;  and  by 

*  Upham,  i.  308-13. 


RETURN  OF  THE  JANIZARIES,  385 

his  aid  they  endeavored  to  regain  their  lost  position  in 
Servia. 

In  this  emergency,  Mustapha  Pasha  did  not  hesitate  to 
take  the  step  before  unheard  of  in  Moslem  history,  of 
calling  the  Christian  rayahs  to  arms  for  the  defence  of 
their  common  rights.  They  obeyed  his  call  with  alacrity, 
and  the  janizaries  were  repelled.  The  very  complete- 
ness of  their  success,  however,  proved,  for  the  time,  their 
ruin.  This  defeat  of  true  believers  by  armed  Christians 
caused  too  great  a  shock  to  Moslem  prejudice,  and  Sultan 
Selim  was  compelled  to  order  the  return  of  the  janiza- 
ries to  Belgrade.  They  did  return,  and  like  vultures  to 
their  prey.  Mustapha  Pasha  was  put  to  death,  and  the 
four  Dahis,  or  leaders  of  the  janizaries,  at  once  proceeded 
to  appropriate  the  province  to  themselves.  Then  followed 
a  reign  of  terror  and  of  blood  such  as  Servia  had  never 
known  before.  The  Dahis  determined  to  exterminate 
the  whole  body  of  Servian  leaders,  and  thus  to  make 
their  power  secure  for  the  future. 

These  measures  led  to  an  issue  far  different  from  thai 
which  their  ferocious  originators  intended.  They  re- 
sulted in  giving  the  death-blow  to  the  Turkish  dominion 
in  Servia.  The  people,  already  conscious  of  their  strength 
and  accustomed  to  the  use  of  arms,  fled  to  the  moun- 
tains, thinking  only  of  preserving  their  lives.  Turkish 
tyranny  had  long  before  filled  the  mountains  with  bands 
of  HeyducSy  or  robbers,  the  same  in  character  with  the 
Greek  Klephts^  who  maintained  a  constant  though  irreg- 
ular warfare  against  their  oppressors.  These  bands  be- 
came the  nucleus  of  a  revolutionary  force.  Everywhere 
leaders  appeared,  and  the  whole  country  rose  in  arms. 

17 


386  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS, 

The  Pasha  of  Bosnia  joined  the  insurgents  in  their  con- 
flict with  the  hated  janizaries.  The  movement  rushed 
forward  with  the  speed  and  the  resistless  power  of  a  con- 
flagration. In  a  single  campaign  the  janizaries  were  swept 
from  the  country,  and  their  four  Dahis,  intercepted  in 
their  flight,  were  put  to  death.  To  their  own  astonish- 
ment, the  Servians  thus  found  themselves  suddenly  the 
perfect  masters  of  themselves  and  their  country,  and  that 
while  fighting  only  the  Sultan's  enemies,  by  the  side  of 
his  own  loyal  lieutenants.^  These  events  took  place  in 
1804. 

It  was  obvious  that  the  Servians,  now  for  the  third 
time  victorious  over  the  Turks,  could  not  return  to  their 
former  oppressed  condition.  This  they  strongly  felt; 
and,  after  mature  deliberation,  they  determined  to  solicit 
the  mediation  of  Russia  and  to  demand  the  same  con- 
cessions for  themselves  as  had  already  been  made  to  the 
neighboring  provinces  of  Wallachia  and  Moldavia.  It 
seemed  for  a  time  as  if  these  demands  would  be  granted, 
but  it  could  not  be.  The  old  Moslem  spirit  was  too 
fiercely  aroused,  and  these  presumptuous  rayahs  must  be 
humbled.  The  Porte  first  temporized,  then  decisively 
rejected  the  Servian  demands,  and  finally  ordered  the 
Pashas  of  Bosnia  and  Scutari  to  march  against  the  Servi- 
ans with  an  immense  army.  ^  No  doubt  was  entertained 
that  this  imposing  force  would  make  short  work  with  the 
Servian  rebellion,  as  Moslem  fanaticism  now  chose  to  re- 
gard it.  But  the  martial  spirit  of  the  Servians  was  now 
thoroughly  aroused,  and  the  whole  people,  numbering 
perhap.^  a  million  of  souls,  had  become  a  nation  of  soldiers. 
*  Ranke,  pp.  78-86. 


KARA  GEORGE,  387 

Undismayed  by  the  dangers  which  beset  them,  they 
hastened  to  accept  the  proffered  wager  of  battle,  deter- 
mined now  to  strike  for  complete  independence. 

The  time  has  now  come  to  introduce  to  the  reader  a 
very  remarkable  man,  the  hero  of  Servian  independence. 
This  man  was  George  Petrovitch,  or,  as  the  Turks  called 
him,  and  as  he  is  more  familiarly  known,  Kara  George.^ 
Kara  George  was  the  son  of  a  peasant  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Belgrade.  He  was  a  rude,  uncultured  child  of 
nature,  fired  with  fiercest  resentment  at  the  wrongs  ot 
his  country  and  his  people,  with  very  indefinite  ideas  in 
regard  to  the  moral  character  of  his  acts,  capable  of 
great  things  for  evil  as  well  as  for  good,  and  displaying 
from  his  youth  up  those  high  and  commanding  qual- 
ities which  made  him  the  saviour  of  his  people,  and 
gave  him  a  great  name  in  his  country's  history.  He  be- 
gan his  career  by  blowing  out  the  brains  of  a  Turk  for 
some  insulting  act,  and  afterwards  taking  the  life  of  his 
own  father  for  his  steadfast  adherence  to  the  Turkish 
cause. '^  In  the  Austrian  war  he  had  served  in  the  Ser- 
vian corps,  with  the  rank  of  sergeant.  With  the  restora- 
tion of  Turkish  power  he  betook  himself  to  the  moun- 
tains, for  a  time,  as  a  heyduc?     Afterwards  he  returned  to 

^  That  is,  Black  George.  liis  appellation,  of  the  same  meaning,  among 
his  own  countrymen  was  Tzerni  George.  -''This  man,"  forcibly  observes 
Dr.  Croly,  "  was  one  of  the  bold  creations  of  wild  countries  and  troubled 
times — ^beings  of  impetuous  courage,  iron  strength,  original  talent,  and 
doubtful  morality." — Ranke,  p.  131,  note. 

2  Upham,  i.  313 ;  Ranke,  p.  130. 

3  At  this  time  Kara  George  is  said  to  have  entered  into  the  **  bond  of 
brotherhood,"  the  relation  so  peculiarly  sacred  and  binding  among  all  the 
Servian  peoples,  vdth  Pasvan  Oglu  of  Widdin. — Servia  and  the  Slave 
Principalities,  p.  487. 


388  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS. 

more  lawful  and  peaceable  pursuits,  engaged  in  business, 
and  accumulated  wealth  as  a  dealer  in  swine.  Servia  is 
covered  with  immense  forests  of  oak ;  and  the  swdne 
fattened  upon  the  acorns  of  these  forests  constitute,  as 
in  the  days  of  Ulysses,  and  of  Cedric  the  Saxon,  an  im- 
portant part  of  the  wealth  of  the  people.  In  Servia, 
consequently,  there  is  no  more  lucrative  or  more  honor- 
able calling  than  that  of  the  dealer  in  swine. 

Kara  George  had  just  collected  a  herd  of  swine  to  be 
driven  over  the  frontier  into  Austria  for  sale,  when  the 
Dahis  entered  upon  their  general  massacre.  Leaving  the 
herd  to  take  care  of  itself,  he  fled  to  the  mountains,  and 
at  once  took  a  leader's  place  among  his  exasperated 
countrymen.  Every  other  district  had  its  own  leader  in 
the  same  way ;  but  the  central  position  of  the  Schuma- 
dia,  the  district  of  Kara  George,  and  his  superior  and 
commanding  ability,  soon  gave  him  a  controlling  influence 
throughout  the  province ;  and  in  1 804,  at  a  meeting  of 
the  Servian  leaders,  he  was  formally  elected  commander 
of  the  Servians.  In  the  events  which  followed,  he  soon, 
proved  his  title  to  this  position. 

In  1806,  the  Pashas  of  Bosnia  and  Scutari  were  upon 
the  borders  of  Servia  with  two  armies,  numbering  to- 
gether forty  thousand  men.  Leaving  a  few  hundred  men 
in  the  east  to  hold  thfe  Pasha  of  Scutari  in  check,  Kara 
George  flew  to  the  west  at  the  head  of  a  small  but  gal- 
lant army,  and  in  a  short  but  sanguinary  battle  inflicted 
upon  the  Bosnians  a  total  defeat.  Two  Pashas,  almost 
all  the  Turkish  leaders,  and  all  the  flower  of  the  Bosnian 
youth,  were  among  the  slain,  while  the  Servian  loss  was 


KAHA  GEORGE,  98$ 

very  small.*  After  this  decisive  victory  Kara  George 
returned  to  the  east,  and  presented  himself  with  so  im- 
posing, a  front  that  the  Pasha  of  Scutari  declined  the  con- 
flict and  proposed  conditions  of  peace.  These  conditions 
would  have  satisfied  the  Servian  leaders,  but  they  were 
rejected  at  Constantinople,  and  the  war  went  on.  The 
next  year,  1 807,  the  Servians  took  all  the  remaining  for- 
tresses, and  drove  the  Turks  out  of  the  country. 

Servia  was  now  free,  with  Kara  George  at  its  head. 
The  seat  of  government  was  fixed  at  Belgrade,  and  mea- 
sures were  taken  to  bring  some  kind  of  political  order 
out  of  the  confusion  which  everywhere  prevailed.  A 
Senate  was  instituted,  consisting  of  twelve  members,  one 
for  each  of  the  twelve  districts  (nahias),  with  both  legis- 
lative and  executive  powers.'^  The  several  revolutionary 
leaders  were  made  Voivodes,  or  military  governors,  of 
their  respective  districts,  and,  while  an  inferior  jurisdic- 
tion was  left  in  the  hands  of  the  KmeteSy  or  head  men  of 
tHe  villages,  in  the  chief  town  of  every  district,  in  place 
of  the  old  Turkish  Kadis,  a  legal  tribunal  was  established, 
consisting  of  a  President,  Assessor,  and  Secretary,  with 
appeals  to  the  Senate  itself 

More  important  still  was  the  founding  at  this  time  of 


^  Ranke,  p.  108.     This  battle  was  fought  near  Schabatz  on  the  Save. 

*  The  Skuptschina,  or  General  Assembly  of  the  leading  men  of  the  na- 
tion, was  held  from  time  to  time  from  the  first.  The  members  of  this  body, 
coming  together  at  first,  it  would  seem,  without  any  regular  appointment, 
were  afterward  summoned  individually  by  the  Prince  at  his  pleasure.  No 
provision  for  the  regular  election  of  a  legislative  body  by  the  people  was 
made  until  1848. — See  an  excellent  account  of  the  Servian  Skuptschina  m 
the  Eastern  Correspondence  of  the  London  Times,  London  Mail,  Nov.  5, 
1875. 


390  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS. 

that  system  of  public  schools  which  has  since  grown  to 
such  magnificent  proportions.  Efforts  were  made  to  es- 
tablish a  good  common  school  in  every  district  town, 
while  a  high  or  collegiate  school,  with  three  teachers, 
was  established  at  Belgrade.  The  principal  agent  in  car- 
rying out  all  these  excellent  measures  was  Dr.  Philippo- 
vitch.  Secretary  of  the  Senate,  who,  with  most  of  the 
leading  teachers  in  the  schools,  was  an  Austrian  Ser- 
vian.' 

The  new  government,  however,  did  not  work  smoothly. 
The  old  leaders,  turbulent  and  refractory,  were  little  in- 
clined to  acknowledge  any  authority  superior  to  their 
own.  As  the  only  method  of  establishing  an  orderly  and 
efficient  administration,  Kara  George  eventually  found 
himself  compelled  to  suppress  his  rivals,  many  of  whom 
were  banished,  and  make  himself  the  sovereign  of  the  lit- 
tle state.  Thus  for  the  six  years  from  1807  to  18 13, 
Servia  remained  free  and  independent  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Kara  George,  who,  for  the  last  three  years  of  tfiis 
period,  reigned  over  the  principality  in  prosperity,  and 
with  absolute  power. 

At  this  point  we  may  pause  for  a  moment  to  survey 
the  picture,  which  has  been  drawn  by  a  master  hand,  of 
this  famous  Servian  hero.  "Kara  George  was  a  very 
extraordinary  man.  He  would  sit  for  days  together 
without  uttering  a  word,  biting  his  nails.  At  times  when 
addressed,  he  would  turn  his  head  aside  and  not  answer. 
When  he  had  taken  wine  he  became  talkative ;  and  if 
in  a  cheerful  mood,  he  would  perhaps  lead  off  a  kolo- 
dance.  Splendor  and  magnificence  he  despised.  la 
*  Ranke,  pp.  122-4. 


MTAHA  GEORGE,  39I 

the  days  of  his  greatest  success,  he  was  always  seen  in 
his  old  blue  trousers,  in  his  worn-out  short  pelt,  and 
his  well-known  black  cap.  His  daughter,  even  while  her 
father  was  in  the  exercise  of  princely  authority,  was  seen 
to  carry  her  water  vessel,  like  other  girls  of  the  village. 
Yet,  strange  to  say,  he  was  not  insensible  to  the  charms 
Ci  gold. 

"  In  Topola  he  might  have  been  taken  for  a  peasant. 
With  his  momkes  ^  he  would  clear  a  piece  of  forest  land, 
or  conduct  water  to  a  mill;  and  then  they  would  fish 
together  in  the  brook  Jasenitza.  He  ploughed  and  tilled 
the  ground  j  and  spoiled  the  insignia  of  the  Russian  Or- 
der, with  which  he  had  been  decorated,  whilst  putting  a 
hoop  on  a  cask.  It  was  in  battle  only  that  he  appeared  a 
warrior.  When  the  Servians  saw  him  approach,  sur- 
rounded by  his  momkeSy  they  took  fresh  courage.  Of 
lofty  stature,  spare  and  broad  shouldered,  his  face  seamed 
by  a  large  scar,  and  enlivened  with  sparkling,  deep- set 
eyes,  he  could  not  fail  to  be  instantly  recognized.  He 
would  spring  from  his  horse — for  he  preferred  fighting 
on  foot — and  though  his  right  hand  had  been  disabled 
by  a  wound  received  when  a  Heyduc,  he  contrived  to 
use  his  rifle  most  skillfuly.  Wherever  he  appeared,  the 
Turks  became  panic-stricken,  for  victory  was  believed  to 
be  invariably  his  companion. 

''In  peace,  Kara  George  evinced,  as  has  been  shown, 
a  decided  inclination  for  a  regular  course  of  proceeding ; 

'  Every  Servian  leader  had  a  band  of  momkes^  or  mounted  followers, 
who  lived  upon  the  lands  of  their  chief  and  ate  at  his  table.  These  bands 
of  moinkes  were  the  only  cavalry  in  the  country.  They  were  often  very  law- 
less, and  sometimes  their  leaders,  depending  upon  their  support,  played  tho 
petty  tyrant  in  their  own  districts. 


39*  TURKISH  SLA  VQNIANS, 

and  although  he  could  not  himself  write,  he  was  fond 
of  having  business  carried  on  in  writing.  He  allowed 
matters  to  follow  their  own  course  for  a  long  time  to- 
gether ;  but  if  they  were  carried  too  far,  his  very  justice 
was  violent  and  terrible.  His  only  brother,  presuming 
on  his  name  and  relationship,  took  unwarrantable  license ; 
and  for  a  long  time  Kara  George  overlooked  his  miscon- 
duct ;  but  at  length  he  did  violence  to  a  young  maiden, 
whose  friends  complained  loudly,  exclaiming  that  it  was 
for  crimes  of  such  a  character  that  the  nation  had  risen 
against  the  Turks.  Kara  George  was  so  greatly  enraged 
at  this  vile  deed  that  he  ordered  this  only  brother,  whom 
he  loved,  to  be  hanged  at  the  door  of  the  house ;  and 
forbade  his  mother  to  mourn  outwardly  for  the  death  of 
her  son.     .     .     . 

''  Such  was  Kara  George :  a  character  of  extraordinary 
strength,  unconscious,  as  it  were,  of  its  own  powers, 
brooding  in  the  vague  sense  of  dormant  energies,  till 
roused  to  action  by  some  event  of  the  moment,  but  then 
bursting  forth  into  vigorous  activity,  for  good  or  for  evil, 
as  circumstances  might  direct."  ^ 
.     Kara  George  combined  the  strength  and  the  weakness 

^  Rankt,  p.  131.  The  following  passage,  from  a  paper  by  Marshal  Die- 
bitch,  a  representative  of  the  Russian  government  at  Belgrade,  in  the  years 
1 810  and  181 1,  is  added  in  a  note:  "George  Petrovitch  .  .  .  is  an 
important  character.  His  countenance  shows  a  greatness  of  mind  which  is 
not  to  be  mistaken ;  and  when  we  take  into  consideration  the  times,  circum- 
stances, and  the  impossibility  of  his  having  received  an  education,  we  must 
admit  that  he  has  a  mind  of  a  masculine  and  commanding  order.  .  . 
He  has  very  little  to  say  for  himself,  and  is  rude  in  his  manners  ;  but  his 
judgments  in  civil  affairs  are  promptly  and  soundly  framed,  and  to  great 
address  he  joins  unwearied  industry.  As  a  soldier  there  is  but  one  opinion 
of  his  talents,  bravery,  and  enduring  firmness," — Id.  p.  133. 


KAJRA  GEORGE,  393 

of  an  untrained,  undisciplined  child  of  nature.  Though 
endowed  with  prodigious  force  and  energy,  and  some- 
times displaying  flashes  of  the  highest  genius,  his  mind 
was  capricious  and  ill-balanced.  In  the  intervals  of  his 
almost  superhuman  exertions,  he  was  subject  to  fits  of 
gloomy  dejection,  inaction,  almost  of  lethargy ;  and  this 
j>eculiarity  of  his  mental  constitution  proved  his  ruin. 
His  fall  was  as  sudden  and  disastrous  as  the  opening  of 
his  career  had  been  successful  and  glorious. 

For  six  years,  with  the  firm  and  steady  support  and 
protection  of  the  Court  of  St.  Petersburg,  the  Servians 
maintained  their  complete  independence.  But  in  18 12, 
Napoleon  undertook  his  great  expedition  for  the  conquest 
of  Russia;  and  this  movement  compelled  the  Russians 
to  assemble  all  their  forces  and  bend  all  their  energies 
for  their  own  defence.  The  Turks,  thus  left  free  from 
foreign  interference,  determined  to  put  forth  a  great  effort 
for  the  subjugation  of  the  revolted  Servians.  The  exter- 
nal danger  on  this  occasion  was  not  greater  than  that 
which  the  Servians  had  triumphantly  met  again  and 
again.  The  difficulty,  the  fatal  difficulty,  was  within.  Like 
the  Second  Napoleon,  and  like  many  another  successful 
autocrat,  Kara  George  had  not  succeeded  in  establishing 
his  own  individual  power  without  essentially  modifying 
and  weakening  the  old  and  vital  institutions  of  his  people. 
The  Knezes,  Voivodes,  Gospodars,  who  had  been  the 
natural  leaders  of  the  people  in  their  old  struggles,  had 
most  of  them  been  deprived  of  their  authority.  Some 
were  in  exile,  others  were  nourishing  a  sullen  and  wide- 
spread opposition  to  the  government  at  home.  Many 
of  the  most  important  posts  were  occupied  by  mere  selfish 

I7» 


J94  TURKISH  SLAVONIANS, 

adventurers,  who  were  no  soldiers,  were  inspired  by  no 
patriotic  devotion  to  their  country,  were  totally  unfit  to 
guide  her  destinies  in  a  sudden  and  dangerous  crisis  like 
this. 

In  the  year  1813,  Kurschid  Pasha,  Grand  Vizier  of  the 
Empire,  appeared  with  a  powerful  army  upon  the  Ser- 
vian borders.^  The  first  attack  was  upon  Negotin,  a 
fortress  upon  the  Danube.  The  defences  in  this  quarter 
were  under  the  command  of  Veliko,  a  stout  and  valiant 
old  Heyduc  chief,  but  who,  at  this  time,  had  Httle  favor 
with  the  principal  officers  of  the  Servian  government. 
His  calls  for  help  were  met  only  with  scornful  neglect, 
and  Velil<:o  soon  fell  fighting  bravely  at  his  post.  After 
the  fall  of  Veliko,  all  effectual  defence  was  at  an  end. 
The  Turkish  armies  crossed  the  frontier,  and  half  the 
province  was  speedily  lost.  But  even  then  the  condition 
of  things  was  in  nowise  desperate.  The  people  were  all 
in  arms,  looking  eagerly  for  the  appearance  of  their  great 
leader,  and  ready  to  rally  under  his  standard  as  one  man 
to  drive  back  the  invaders. 

If  at  this  juncture  Kara  George  had  put  himself  at 
their  head,  with  a  tithe  of  the  valor  and  enthusiasm  with 
which,  in  1806,  he  had  faced  the  Pashas  of  Bosnia  and 
Scutari,  no  doubt  another  victory,  no  less  complete  and 
decisive,  would  have  crowned  his  arms.  But  he  did  not 
appear.  The  cowardice  and  defection  of  his  civil  and 
military  servants,  who  were  stealing  in  crowds  across  the 
Austrian  frontier  for  safety,  seemed  to  have  filled  him 
with  deep  and  hopeless  despondency.  He  issued  no 
commands  to  his  armies,  spoke  no  word  of  courage  and 
'  Rajike,  chap.  xv. 


FALL  OF  KARA  GEORGE.  39$ 

inspiration  to  his  people,  took  no  measures  for  the  de- 
fence of  his  principality.  And  so,  without  striking  one 
blow  for  the  realm  he  had  so  gloriously  won,  without  one 
effort  for  the  preservation  of  the  imperiled  freedom  of 
his  native  land,  he  too  joined  the  swelling  current  of 
fugitives,  and  stole  ignominiously  across  the  Danube. 

The  astonished  Turks  thus  found  their  power  over 
their  revolted  province  restored  as  suddenly  as  it  had 
been  wrested  from  them  seven  years  before.  Their  tri- 
umph, however,  was  but  short.  While  most  of  the  Ser- 
vian leaders  had  followed  Kara  George  in  his  flight,  one 
of  them,  Milosch  Obrenovitch  by  name,  more  brave  and 
patriotic  than  the  rest,  determined  to  remain  and  share 
the  fate  of  his  countrymen.  To  him  the  Turkish  com- 
manders applied  for  aid  in  pacifying  the  province.  As 
the  best  that  could  be  done  under  the  circumstances, 
Milosch  readily  complied  with  their  request,  and  zeal- 
ously exerted  himself  to  persuade  his  countrymen  to 
make  the  best  terms  possible  with  their  conquerors.  By 
this  course,  he  not  only  secured  the  entire  confidence  of 
the  Turkish  officials,  but  became  the  acknowledged  leader 
of  the  Servian  people."  ^ 

At  first,  the  Turkish  authorities  seemed  inclined  to  use 
their  recovered  power  with  some  fairness  and  moderation; 
but  very  soon  the  expelled  Spahis  and  Moslem  proprie- 
tors returned  to  their  estates,  determined  to  wreak  a  ter- 
rible vengeance  upon  the  spoilers  of  their  inheritance. 
As  the  result,  a  fearful  reign  of  violence  and  blood  soon 
prevailed.^     This  state  of  things  could  not  last,  and  in 

1  Ranke,  pp.  189-90. 

*  '*  In  1814,  three  hundred  Christians  were  impaled  at  Belgrade  by  the 


396  TURKISH  SLA  VOmANS. 

the  spring  of  1 8 1 5  the  exasperated  Servians  constrained 
Milosch  to  lead  them  in  a  fresh  revolt*  The  movement 
was  crowned  with  complete  success;  the  Turks  were 
everywhere  beaten,  and,  except  a  few  of  the  principal 
fortresses,  the  country  was  again  freed  from  their  presence. 
Thus  in  the  year  181 5,  by  '*a  campaign  which  would 
not  lose  by  comparison  with  any  that  had  ever  occurred 
in  Servia,"^  did  Milosch  Obrenovitch  finally  secure  and 
estabUsh  the  essential  freedom  of  the  Servian  people. 
The  Turks  still  called  the  country  their  own,  and  for  fif- 
teen years  longer  the  state  of  things  was  very  unsettled. 
A  Turkish  Pasha  held  his  court  in  Belgrade.  Turkish 
garrisons  held  the  fortresses,  the  Turkish  Spahis  claimed, 
to  some  extent  received,  the  rents  of  their  estates.  Yet, 
none  the  less,  Servia  was  essentially  free.  The  country 
districts  had  been  wholly  cleared  of  their  old  Moslem 
population ;  the  so-called  Turks  were  now  found  only 
in  the  fortified  towns,  and  even  there  were  rapidly  dwin- 
dHng  away ;  the  internal  administration  was  wholly  in 
Servian  hands ;  the  Turkish  money  claims  of  all  kinds 
were  gradually  commuted  for  a  gross  sum  to  be  paid  by 
the  Servian  authorities,  forming  a  very  light  tax  upon 
the  householders,  who  were  thus  transformed  into  an  in- 
dependent yeomanry ;  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Pasha  of 
Belgrade  extended  only  over  the  Moslems  in  the  few 
fortified  towns  ;  and  the  real  sovereign  of  Servia  was  the 
Grand  Knez,  Milosch  Obrenovitch.^ 

Pasha,  and  every  valley  in  Servia  presented  the  spectacle  of  infuriated  Turk- 
ish Spahis  avenging  on  the  Servians  the  blood,  exile,  and  confiscation  of  the 
ten  preceding  years." — Paton's  Servia,  p.  199. 

1  Ranke,  pp.  195,  198.  *  Id.,  p.  205. 

'  Paton,  p.  307 ;  Ranke,  chap,  xviii. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


FREE    SERVIA. 

The  country  which  is  the  home  of  the  Servian  people 
IS  one  of  the  finest  and  most  delightful  regions  of  the 
earth's  surface.  Although  in  the  latitude  of  Tuscany  and 
the  Gulf  of  Lyons,  its  situation,  upon  the  northern  slopes 
of  the  Balkan  Mountains,  has  given  it  the  climate,  vege- 
tation, and  general  character  of  the  South  of  England 
rather  than  the  South  of  France.  Mr.  Denton  observes 
that  the  flora  or  vegetation  of  Servia  is  almost  entirely 
English.  But  nowhere  in  England,  probably,  does  this 
flora  reach  a  development  so  luxuriant  and  magnificent 
as  it  everywhere  displays  upon  these  sunny  slopes. 

The  heart  of  Servia  is  the  broad  and  fruitful  valley  of 
the  Morava,  in  its  lower  course  a  large  and  navigable 
river,  which,  with  its  branches,  waters  the  interior  dis- 
tricts of  the  principality  in  its  whole  length  from  north 
to  south.  This  valley  presents  a  wide  expanse  of  fer- 
tile land,  mostly  without  timber,*  and  yielding  ample 
crops  of  wheat  and  other  grains.  On  either  side  of  this 
valley  the  country  rises  into  detached  hills  and  low 
mountains^  which  are  covered  with  magnificent  oaks  and 

» Paton,  p.  178. 


398  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS. 

Other  trees  in  great  variety,  and  clothed  with  richest  ver- 
dure to  their  very  summits. 

The  whole  Principality,  especially  in  the  interior  and 
southern  districts,  is  but  sparsely  settled,  and  no  more 
than  a  fifth  or  sixth  of  the  soil  is  under  cultivation.  But 
in  their  almost  extravagant  admiration  of  the  natural 
beauty  of  the  scenery  among  those  wooded  hills,  all  visit- 
ants from  the  West  are  quite  agreed.  "  This  part  of  Ser- 
via  (the  Servian  bank  of  the  Drina  near  Liubovia)  is  a 
wilderness,  if  you  will,"  says  Mr.  Paton.  *'  So  scant  is  it 
of  inhabitants,  so  free  from  anything  like  inclosures,  or 
fields,  farms,  laborers,  gardens,  or  gardeners ;  and  yet  it 
is,  and  looks,  a  garden  in  one  place,  a  trim  English  lawn 
and  park  in  another.  You  almost  say  to  yourself.  The 
man  or  house  cannot  be  far  off  what  lovely  and  exten- 
sive grounds  I  where  can  the  hall  or  castle  be  hid  ?  "  ^ 
The  vegetation  which  so  luxuriates  in  these  secluded  re- 
gions is  mostly  spontaneous.  The  grassy  slopes  are  filled 
with  strawberries,  and  the  forest  glades  with  raspberries, 
while  whortleberries  are  found  abundantly  upon  the 
lighter  soil  of  the  hills.  Almost  every  kind  of  flower  that 
beautifies  the  English  landscape  is  scattered  in  prodigal 
profusion  among  these  Servian  hills.  "Trees,  indeed, 
that  are  comparatively  rare  in  England  are  met  with  in 
profusion  in  Servia.  The  wild  pear  and  cherry,  the  plum 
and  the  apple  may  be  seen  in  great  numbers  in  the  woods; 
the  acacia  and  laburnum  are  met  with  by  the  sides  of  the 
roads,  and  lilacs  abound  on  all  the  hillsides."  ^ 

As  we  advance  southwards  and  upwards  towards  the 

'  Paton,  p.  153. 

*  London  Quarterly  Review,  January,  1865,  p.  97. 


FREE  SERVIA,  399 

higher  summits  of  the  Balkan  range,  the  scenery  becomes 
entirely  changed.  The  oak  and  beech  give  place  to  the 
cedar  ;  the  mountains  rise  precipitous  and  wild ;  the  lux- 
uriant fruitfulness  of  the  lower  districts  disappears  ;  even 
the  pasturage  is  scanty  and  poor.^  Yet  to  this  bleak  and 
sterile  region  the  mind  of  every  Servian  turns  with  the 
deepest  and  most  reverent  interest ;  for  here  are  thickly 
scattered  the  monuments  of  the  ancient  glories  of  his 
race.*  At  Novi  Bazar,  just  over  the  line  in  Bosnia,  was 
the  ancestral  seat  of  Nemanja,  the  founder  of  the  Servian 
Empire.  At  Zitchka  is  the  ancient  monastery  at  which 
was  raised  the  archiepiscopal  throne  of  St.  Sava,  the 
patron  saint  of  all  the  Servian  lands,  and  in  w^hich  seven 
Servian  Tzars  were  crowned.  A  little  further  south,  and 
a  little  higher  up  among  the  mountains,  is  the  famous  old 
monastery  of  Studenitza,  built  by  Nemanja  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  twelfth  century,  and  containing  within  its  walls 
a  magnificent  church  of  white  marble  and  Byzantine  archi- 
tecture— magnificent  still,  after  all  the  abuse  iand  mutila- 
tions which  it  has  suffered  at  the  hands  of  the  Turks — 
in  which  are  seen  the  tombs  of  St.  Simeon,  the  son  of 
Nemanja,  and  of  St.  Sava,  the  son  of  St.  Simeon,  and 
ecclesiastical  father  of  the  Servian  Church.  This  church 
was  built  by  Stephen  Urosh,  Tzar  of  Servia,  in  1 3 14, 
and  is  one  of  thirty-five  similar  churches  in  the  same 
district  which  bear  witness  to  the  magnificence,  the 
piety,  and  the  architectural  taste  of  the  Nemanyitch 
Tzars. 

The  social  life  and  character  of  the  rural  Servians,  who 

»  Paton,  p,  188. 

*  Id.,  chap.  xvii. ;  Forsyth,  p.  22;  Mackenzie  and  Irby,  p.  315. 


18 


400  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS. 

form  the  great  majority  of  the  nation,^  present  a  subject 
of  singular  and  fascinating  interest.  Secluded  among 
their  mountains,  forests,  and  quiet  vales,  they  have  pre- 
served almost  unchanged  the  manners  and  mode  of  life 
of  their  ancestors  in  mediaeval  times.  No  doubt  they 
have  been  characterized  by  the  vices,  the  rudeness,  vio- 
lence, and  lawlessness,  as  well  as  the  virtues  of  a  semi- 
civiHzed  people ;  but  the  impression  which  they  make 
upon  the  traveler  from  the  West  is,  on  the  whole,  most 
pleasing.  They  are  an  exceedingly  simple-hearted  peo- 
ple, so  hospitable  as  almost  to  reverence  the  stranger; 
grave  and  serious,  frank,  honest,  and  dignified,  and  stand- 
ing erect  in  the  proud  consciousness  of  a  freedom  nobly 
won.  Turkish  tyranny  has  had  the  same  leveling  effect 
upon  them  as  upon  the  Greeks,  and  has  inspired  them 
with  a  spirit  intensely  democratic.  To  the  inquiry  of  a 
traveler  if  there  were  no  nobles  in  Servia,  the  character- 
istic answer  was  returned,  ''Every  Servian  is  noble.'* 
The  women  are  exceedingly  diligent,  and  every  family  is 
comfortably  clothed  in  the  products  of  the  domestic  loom. 
The  men  too  are  industrious,  but  not  like  the  Bulgarians, 
who  annually  cross  the  frontier  in  great  numbers  to  assist 
them  in  gathering  their  harvests.  Their  domestic  morals 
are  above  reproach,  the  members  of  the  family  circle  be- 
ing bound  together  by  strong  affection,  while  licentious- 
ness is  almost  unknown.  The  "  bond  of  brotherhood  " 
is  a  peculiar  relation   which  has  been   common  among 

^  The  Servians  of  the  towns,  who  have  always  lived,  until  within  a  few 
years  past,  under  Turkish  influence,  are  far  inferior  to  their  brethren  of  the 
country.  They  are  characterized  by  more  of  the  vices  which  long  continued 
servitude  everywhere  engenders. — See  Owen  Meredith,  p.  i6. 


FREE  SERVIA,  401 

them  from  ancient  times,  although,  in  the  complete  change 
in  their  circumstances,  it  is  now  bec<  ming  less  frequent. 
Two  young  men  (and  the  maidens  have  a  similar  cus- 
tom), having  been  drawn  together  by  interest  or  affection, 
take  an  oath  of  brotherhood  "  in  the  name  of  God  and 
St.  John,"  and  become  thenceforth  faithfully  devoted  to 
each  other  until  separated  by  death. ^  Singularly  enough, 
this  bond  was  often  formed  between  Christians  and  Mos- 
lems. The  bond-brother  of  Kara  George  was  Pasvan 
Oglu,  afterwards  Pasha  of  Widdin ;  the  bond-brother  of 
Prince  Milosch  Obrenovitch  was  a  Turkish  official ;  ^  and 
Sultan  Bajazet  was  the  bond-brother  of  the  Servian  King, 
Stephen  Lazarevitch,  who,  with  true  Servian  feeling, 
remained  true  to  his  oath  after  the  defeat  and  capture  of 
Bajazet  by  Tamarlane.^ 

According  to  the  ancient  traditions  of  the  race,  the 
Servian  wife  still  holds,  in  theory,  an  inferior  and  some- 
what servile  position.  She  is  expected  for  a  long  time 
after  her  marriage  to  be  very  modest  and  retiring,  and 
not  until  she  becomes  the  mother  of  growji  up  children 
does  she  rise  to  full  equality  with  the  other  females  ot 
the  family.  When  the  husband  dies,  it  is  the  mother 
and  sisters,  not  the  wife,  who  publicly  mourn  his  loss.  On 
his  journey  from  Belgrade  to  Schabatz,  Mr.  Paton  met 
a  very  pretty  young  woman,  who,  in  response  to  the  sal- 
utations of  the  party,  bent  herself  almost  to  the  earth. 
In  answer  to  his  inquiries  respecting  this  singular  humil- 
ity, he  was  informed  that  the  young  woman  was  a  bride, 

'  Ranke,  p.  37.  ^  Ranke,  p.  197. 

'  Mr.  Layard  found  something  resembling  this  Servian  league  of  brother- 
hood among  the  Shammar  Arabs. — See  his  "  Nineveh  and  Babylon,"  p.  20J 


402  TURKISH  SLAVONIANS, 

and  that  custom  required  her  to  display  this  humility 
and  reverence.*  The  Servian  woman  is  an  excellent 
housekeeper,  and  in  all  the  better  class  of  houses  the 
traveler  from  the  West  is  surprised  and  delighted  to  find 
scrupulous  cleanliness,  snowy  sheets,  and  comfortable 
beds. 

The  social  system  of  the  Servians  is  strikingly  patri- 
archal. This  is  the  explanation  of  the  communal  form 
of  their  village  life.  The  father,  as  long  as  he  lives,  is 
the  head  of  the  family  in  all  its  branches.  The  Servian 
**  House  Communion  "  is,  in  its  origin,  and  frequently 
in  fact,  a  clan;  and  the  Stareshina,  or  "housefather," 
whether  the  actual  father  of  the  family  or  its  ablest  mem- 
ber chosen  to  fill  the  office,  rules  his  little  community 
with  quiet  dignity  and  firm  authority.  The  "  House 
Communion  "  is  the  basis  not  only  of  society  but  of  na- 
tionality among  the  Servians.  This  communal  system 
does  not  favor  the  development  of  individual  energy  and 
enterprise.  It  is  already  giving  way,  and  must  ?re  long 
become  greatly  modified,  if  it  does  not  wholly  disappear, 
as  social  order  and  the  progress  of  civilization  awaken 
the  strong  personal  impulses  of  the  several  members  of 
each  community.  Yet  there  can  be  no  doubt  that,  in 
the  dark  and  troubled  ages  of  the  past,  it  has  been  of  in- 
calculable value  to  the  Servian  people.  As  every  house- 
hold forms  a  considerable  community  by  itself,  and  re- 
quires no  little  space,  a  Servian  village  necessarily  extends 
over  a  great  amount  of  ground. 

The  same  principle  which  governs  the  House  Com- 
munion has  a  more  extended  application  in  the  village, 
1  Servia,  p.  86. 


^JtSS  SERVIA.  403 

which  is  a  doce  corporation,  electing  its  own  elders  and 
Seoski  KxxtZy  Kmete,  or  mayor,  who,  under  the  Turks, 
were  the  virtual  rulers  of  the  Servian  people.  The  Ser- 
vians have  a  strong  dislike  for  professional  lawyers,  and 
the  village  Kmetes,  with  their  council  of  elders,  are  still 
the  courts  to  which  the  people  of  the  country  districts 
generally  resort  for  the  settlement  of  their  disputes.  In 
some  villages  a  "  reconciliation  house "  has  been  pro- 
vided for  the  accommodation  of  tliis  rustic  tribunal, 
which  sits  every  Sunday,  and  decides  all  cases  without 
fee  or  charge.  More  commonly,  ho>trever,  it  holds  its 
sessions  in  the  open  air,  sitting  in  patriarchal  simplicity, 
the  Kmete  in  the  center,  the  elders  grouped  around 
him.^  Every  village  and  every  household  has  its  own 
titular  saint,  whose  anniversary  was  formerly  observed 
with  much  ceremony.  In  the  general  want  of  churches, 
the  clergy  found  in  these  stated  rites  one  of  their  most 
important  points  of  union  with  their  flocks. 

As  has  been  already  observed,  the  Serviaaj  are  a  re- 
markably poetic  race.  Everything  in  their  hiU.ory,  down 
even  to  the  present  moment,  has  been  embodied  in  verse. 
The  spontaneousness  with  which,  in  Servia,  even  the  most 
common  and  prosaic  occurrences  seem  to  take  on  the 
poetic  form,  and  go  flying  on  the  wings  of  song  from  one 

*  Forsyth,  p.  65.  **  Seeing  a  large  house  (at  Skela,  on  the  Save)  .rithin 
an  inclosure,  I  asked  what  it  was,  and  was  told  that  it  was  the  reconcxliation 
house,  a  court  of  first  instance,  in  which  cases  are  decided  by  the  village 
elders,  without  expense  to  the  litigants,  and  beyond  which  suits  are  seldoiu 
carried  to  the  higher  courts.  There  is,  throughout  all  the  interior  of  Servia, 
a  stout  opposition  to  the  nascent  lawyer  class  in  Belgrade.  I  have  been 
more  than  once  amused  on  hearing  an  advocate,  greedy  of  practice,  style 
this  laudable  economy  and  patriarchal  simplicity,  '  Avarice  and  aversion 
from  civilization.*  " — Patoa,  p.  87. 


404  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS, 

end  of  the  land  to  the  other,  is  one  of  the  most  remark- 
able facts  of  modern  times,  one  of  the  most  striking  illus- 
trations of  the  Homeric  age.  Such  verses,  Mr.  Denton 
observes,  are  not  employed  alone  in  celebrating  the 
glories  of  Stephen  Dushan,  the  heroism  of  George  Bran- 
covitch,  or  the  mournful  defeat  of  Kossovo.  "  Long 
tedious  debates  in  the  National  Parliament,  or  Skoup- 
china,  of  1870,  on  the  liberty  of  opening  and  keeping 
shops  in  villages  as  distinguished  from  towns,  were  sum- 
med up  and  reported  throughout  the  country,  in  a  way 
which  would  astonish  the  readers  of  the  debates  in  our 
English  Parliament.  The  whole  discussion,  with  the  argu- 
ments of  the  various  speakers,  took  the  form  of  a  long 
song  or  poem,  which  was  recited  in  the  open  air  before 
the  villagers  assembled  to  hear  the  course  and  result  of 
the  debate.  Perhaps  in  a  similar  manner  the  military 
and  naval  incidents,  the  contentions  of  mighty  chiefs,  the 
debates  before  the  tent  of  Agamemnon,  or  in  the  council- 
house  of  Troy,  were  thrown  into  verse  by  the  Father  of 
Poetry,  the  Prince  of  story-tellers,  .  .  .  and  thus, 
made  known  throughout  Greece  in  the  form  of  the 
Iliad."  ^  A  vast  number  of  poems  and  ballads,  of  many 
of  which  no  one  knows  the  author,  and  which  are  con- 
stantly being  added  to  or  reproduced  in  different  forms, 
are  always  passing  from  mouth  to  mouth,  and  are  sung 
or  recited  to  the  monotonous  accompaniment  of  the 
gusla^  on  all  occasions,  public  and  private.  Sometimes, 
as  at  the  tables  of  the  chiefs,  in  public  assemblies,  and  by 

>  Serbian  Folk-lore,  p.  23. 

*  The  giisla  is  a  one-stringed  violin,  with  a  long  neck.    Mr.  Paton  writes 
the  vrordi  gooselyt  whicfi  very  nearly  represents  the  correct  pronunciation. 


FREE  SERVIA,  4d$ 

the  fireside  of  the  country  inn,  the  singing  is  by  profes- 
sional rhapsodists,  many  of  whom  are  blind.  But  the 
ability  to  chant  these  national  poems  is  a  universal  ac- 
complishment ;  and  in  the  long  evenings  of  winter, 

"  When  round  the  lonely  cottage 

Roars  loud  the  Tempest's  din, 
Arid  the  good  logs  of  Algidus 

Roar  louder  yet  within ; 
When  young  and  old  in  circle 

Around  the  firebrands  close, 
When  the  girls  are  weaving  baskets 

And  the  lads  are  shaping  bows ; 
When  the  good-man  mends  his  armor, 

And  trims  his  helmet  plume, 
And  the  good- wife's  shuttle  merrily 

Goes  flashing  through  the  loom ;  " 

very  often  the  venerable  grandsire,  excused  on  account 
of  his  years  from  the  active  labors  in  which  the  younger 
men  are  busy,  takes  down  the  gusla,  and  whiles  away 
the  evening  hour  by  chanting  the  glorious  deeds  of  the 
great  Dushan,  of  Marko  Kralievitch,  of  the  good  Czar 
Lazar,  or  of  Kara  George. 

Among  a  people  so  simple  and  primitive  in  their  man- 
ners and  feelings,  and  of  so  poetic  a  temperament,  we 
find,  as  we  might  expect,  an  ardent  sympathy  with 
nature.  The  whole  year  is  filled  with  rites,  supersti- 
tious perhaps,  but  none  the  less  simple  and  pleasing, 
in  which  the  dependence  of  man  upon  the  powers  of 
nature  is  acknowledged  and  vividly  set  forth.  In  this 
way  almost  every  change  in  the  circling  seasons  is  cele- 
brated. "  As  soon  as  ice  and  snow  disappear  from  the 
surface  of  water  and  land — that  being  the  first  harbinger 
of  the  renovated  year — they  commence  with  these  sym- 


406  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS. 

bolic  rites.  On  the  eve  of  St.  George's  festival,  towards 
the  end  of  April,  the  women  gather  young  flowers  and 
herbs ;  then  catching  the  water  cast  from  a  mill-wheel 
they  throw  into  it  the  flowers  and  herbs,  and  let  both 
remain  during  the  night,  for  the  purpose  of  bathing  in 
the  water  the  next  morning."  ^  And  so  with  mystic 
rites,  with  dance  and  song,  with  rustic  processions  and 
social  festivities,  they  celebrate  each  successive  period 
of  the  advancing  year. 

Before  the  Revolution  the  people  were  very  ignorant, 
the  clergy  in  this  respect  having  but  little  the  advantage 
of  their  flocks,  and  their  public  religious  services  were 
little  more  than  superstitious  forms.  Since  the  Revolu- 
tion the  Servians  have  become  an  intelligent,  compara- 
tively an  educated  people  ;  and  many  of  their  clergy  have 
been  able  and  public- spirited  men,  who  have  exerted 
themselves  with  zeal  and  success  for  the  moral  and  intel- 
lectual improvement  of  their  countrymen.  Yet  it  is  to 
be  feared  that  even  now  true  evangelical  piety,  based 
in  an  intelligent  study  of  the  Scriptures,  has  little  exist- 
ence among  them.  But  the  Servians  are  and  have  al- 
ways been  of  a  grave,  religious  character.  They  love  to 
sing  the  grand  old  hymns  of  their  ancient  Church,  and 
engage  in  all  the  public  and  private  services  of  rehgion 
with  great  punctuality  and  fervor.  **They  have  three 
daily  prayers — early  in  the  morning,  before  supper,  and 
on  retiring  to  rest — in  which  they  do  not  employ  estab- 
lished forms ;  and  at  table,  instead  of  one  asking  a  bless- 
ing on  the  food,  each  individual  expresses  in  his  own 
words  gratitude  to  the  Supreme  Being.  In  drinking,  the 
^  Kankci  p.  41,. 


FREE  SERVIA,  ^ 

toast  or  sentiment  of  the  Servians  is,  "  To  the  glory  of 
God ; "  and  no  one  would  presume  to  take  his  seat  at 
the  head  of  a  convivial  party,  who  was  not  able  to  extem- 
porize a  suitable  prayer."  ^ 

The  few  fine  old  churches  which  have  been  preserved 
from  mediaeval  times  were  wholly  inadequate  to  the 
wants  of  the  people,  and  as  the  Turks  would  allow  no 
new  churches  to  be  built,  the  usual  public  services  of 
religion  upon  the  Sabbath  were  not  generally  observed. 
For  this  reason  the  parish  clergy  were  a  less  important 
and  influential  body  among  the  Servians  than  among  any 
other  of  the  Christian  peoples  of  the  East.  They  were 
usually  very  poor,  and  fortunate  it  -was  for  them  if  they 
had  land  of  their  own  on  which  they  could  labor  for 
their  bread.  "  Father,"  asked  a  boy  one  day  of  a  priest, 
"  do  you  also  tend  your  oxen  ?  "  "  My  son,"  was  the 
answer,  "  I  would  they  were  mine  I  tended." 

The  monks  enjoy  the  respect  and  veneration  of  the 
people  in  a  far  higher  degree  than  the  parish  clergy. 
This  was  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  monasteries,  far  away 
from  Turkish  scrutiny  in  the  hidden  recesses  of  the  forests 
and  the  mountains,  became  important  centres  of  the  so- 
cial as  well  as  religious  life  of  the  people.  On  certain 
established  days  the  population  of  the  surrounding  dis- 
tricts were  accustomed  to  assemble  at  these  places,  not 
only  for  confession  and  worship,  but  for  a  social  and  fes- 
tive gathering.  Many  parties  arrived  the  preceding 
evening,  and  passed  the  night  around  a  fire.  The  morn- 
ing hours  were  given  to  confession  and  the  communion, 
after  which  followed  a  market  and  a  fair.  The  young 
^  Ranke,  p.  43. 


4o8  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS. 

people  engaged  m  various  sports,  while  their  seniors  sat 
apart  in  grave  consultation.  In  August,  1 844,  Mr.  Paton 
had  the  good  fortune  to  be  present  at  one  of  these  gath- 
erings at  the  monastery  of  Tronosha,  in  the  valley  of  the 
Drina.  The  party  reached  the  monastery,  "  an  edifice 
with  strong  walls,  towers,  and  posterns,"  in  the  afternoon. 
"  After  coffee,  sweetmeats,  &c.,"  he  continues,  ''  we  passed 
through  the  yard,  and,  piercing  the  postern  gate,  unex- 
pectedly came  upon  a  most  animated  scene.  A  green 
glade,  that  ran  up  to  the  foot  of  the  hill,  was  covered 
with  the  preparations  for  the  approaching  festivities. 
Wood  was  splitting,  fires  lighting,  fifty  or  sixty  sheep  were 
spitted,  pyramids  of  bread,  dishes  of  all  sorts  and  sizes, 
and  jars  of  wine  in  wicker  baskets,  were  mingled  with 
throat- cut  fowls,  lying  on  the  banks  of  the  stream  side 
by  side  with  pigs  at  their  last  squeak.  ...  In  the 
evening  we  went  out,  and  the  countless  fires,  lighting  up 
the  lofty  oaks,  had  a  most  pleasing  effect  The  sheep 
were  by  this  time  cut  up  and  lying  in  fragments,  around 
which  the  supper  parties  were  seated  cross-legged. 
Other  peasants  danced  slowly,  in  a  circle,  to  the  drone 
of  the  somniferous  Servian  bagpipe.  When  I  went  to 
bed,  the  assembled  peasantry  were  in  the  full  tide  of 
merriment,  but  without  excess.  ...  I  dreamed  I 
know  not  what  absurdities ;  suddenly  a  solemn  swelling 
chorus  of  countless  voices  gently  interrupted  my  slum- 
bers— the  room  was  filled  with  light,  and  the  sun  on 
high  was  beginning  to  begild  an  irregular  parallelogram 
on  the  wainscot — when  I  started  up  and  hastily  drew 
on  some  clothes.  Going  out  to  the  makad,  I  per- 
ceived yesterday's  assembly  of  merry-making  peasants 


FREE  SERVTA.  409 

quadrupled  in  number,  and  all  dressed  in  their  holiday 
costume,  thickset  on  their  knees,  down  the  avenue  to  the 
church,  and  following  a  noble  old  hymn.  .  .  .  The 
whole  pit  of  this  theater  of  verdure  appeared  covered 
with  a  carpet  of  white  and  crimson,  for  such  were  the  pre- 
vailing colors  of  the  rustic  costumes.  .  .  .  After  the 
midday  meal  we  descended,  accompanied  by  the  monks. 
The  lately  crowded  court-yard  was  silent  and  empty. 
*What,'  said  I,  'all  dispersed  already?'  The  Superior 
smiled,  and  said  nothing.  On  going  out  of  the  gate,  I 
paused,  in  a  state  of  slight  emotion.  The  whole  assem- 
bled peasantry  were  marshaled  into  rows,  and  standing 
uncovered  in  solemn  silence,  so  as  to  make  a  living  ave- 
nue to  the  bridge.  ...  I  took  off  my  fez,  and  said, 
'  Do  you  know,  Father  Igoumen,  what  has  given  me  the 
most  pleasure  in  the  course  of  my  visit  ?  I  have  seen  a 
large  assembly  of  peasantry,  and  not  a  trace  of  poverty, 
vice,  or  misery.'  The  Igoumen,  smiling  with  satisfac- 
tion, made  a  short  speech  to  the  people.  I  mounted  my 
horse;  the  convent  bells  began  to  toll  as  I  waved  my 
hand  to  the  assembly,  and  '  Sretnj  poot '  (a  prosperous 
journey)  burst  from  a  thousand  tongues."  *  It  is  Prof. 
Ranke's  opinion  that  through  the  dark  centuries  of  Turk- 
ish oppression  these  secluded  monasteries  were  the  most 
efficient  means  of  preserving  both  the  religion  and  the 
nationality  of  the  Servian  people.^  Since  the  Revolu- 
tion the  influence  and  the  numbers  of  the  monks  have 
greatly  decreased.  As  the  parish  priest  is  required  to  be 
a  married  man,  and  permitted  to  marry  but  once,  on 
the  death  of  his  wife  he  is  compelled  to  enter  a  mon- 

*  Servia,  pp.  134-9.  ^  Servia  and  Bosnia,  p.  40. 

18 


410  TURKISH  SI  A  VONIANS, 

astery.  If  it  were  not  for  these  involuntary  recruits, 
the  Servian  monks  would  soon  disappear.^ 

Let  us  now  turn  back  to  trace  the  political  development 
of  the  principality  since  the  final  establishment  of  its 
essential  freedom  in  1815.  The  long  reign  of  Milosch 
Obrenovitch,  from  181 5  to  1839,  was  a  transition  period. 
The  rule  of  Prince  Milosch,  by  birth  and  education  an 
ilHterate  peasant,  unable  to  write  or  read,  and  knowing 
nothing  of  any  other  kind  of  government  than  that  of 
the  Ottoman  officials,  was  more  like  that  of  a  Turkish 
Pasha  than  that  of  an  enlightened  and  constitutional 
chief  magistrate.^  His  great  aim  was  to  accumulate 
wealth  and  to  establish  his  family  in  a  hereditary  satrapy, 
under  the  Porte,  like  that  of  the  Pashas  of  Scutari  and 
Uskup.  He  monopolized  commerce,  forced  his  own  goods 
and  produce  upon  the  markets  at  his  own  price,  filled 
the  posts  of  government  with  his  own  creatures,  and 
struck  off  heads  with  little  regard  to  the  fonns  of 
law. 

One  of  the  first  to  fall  by  his  ruthless  hand  was  his 
brave  but  injudicious  and  unfortunate  predecessor,  Kara 
George.  After  his  flight  from  Servia,  Kara  Greorge  had 
taken  refuge  in  Bessarabia,  under  the  protection  of  Rus- 
sia. In  1 8 16,  the  Greek  Hetaeria  enlisted  him  in  their 
cause,  and  inspired  him  with  the  hope  of  placing  himself 
once  more  at  the  head  of  the  Servian  people,  and  uniting 
them  with  the  Greeks  in  their  impending  struggle  for 
independence  He  accordingly  returned  secretly  to 
Smederevo,  where,  at  the  demand  of  the  Pasha  of  Bel- 

^  London  Quarterly  Review,  January,  1865,  p.  100. 

*  Ranke,  chap.  xxi.  j  Paton,  chap.  xxx.  j  Forsyth,  pp.  50-56. 


FREE  SERVIA.  411 

grade,  and  by  the  orders  of  Milosch,  he  was  treacherously 
stabbed  while  asleep.^ 

Milosch  was  recognized  by  the  Porte  as  the  virtual 
head  of  the  Servian  people,  and  in  18 1 7  was  chosen 
Grand  Knez  by  the  Servians  themselves.  He  thus  ruled 
by  a  two-fold  authority,  and  his  position,  although  pre- 
carious and  equivocal,  was  maintained  with  consummate 
shrewdness  and  skill.  Arbitrary,  and  in  some  respects 
tyrannical,  as  his  government  was,  it  was  probably  the 
best  which  could  have  been  obtained  under  the  circum- 
stances, and  under  it,  for  a  long  time,  the  Servians  pros- 
pered and  were  content. 

Meantime  the  external  relations  of  the  principahty 
were  constantly  improving.  The  Russian  people  sym- 
pathized strongly  with  their  fellow  Slavonians  of  the 
South,  and  ^he  imperial  government  was  always  in- 
cHned  to  mediate  in  their  behalf  in  a  tone  of  command- 
ing authority.  The  Cabinet  of  St.  Petersburg  was  sup- 
ported in  these  measures  by  England  and  France,  and, 
in  accordance  with  the  demands  of  the  three  Powers,  at 
the  Conference  of  Akjerman^  in  1826,  the  Porte  con- 
sented to  concede  to  Servia  a  position  of  semi-independ- 
ence, with  nearly  the  same  measure  of  internal  freedom 
and  territorial  extent,  excepting  the  occupation  of  the 
fortresses,  which  had  been  enjoyed  under  Kara  George. 
In  1830  a  Hatti- sheriff  was  issued  from  Constantinople 
giving  full  effect  to  these  provisions,  and  recognizing 
Milosch  Obrenovitch  as  hereditary  Prince  or  Grand 
Knez  of  Servia.^ 

*  Ranke,  p.  217.  '  Akyerman;  Ranke,  p.  235. 

*  Ranke,  p|   241-247. 


412  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS. 

But  during  this  long  interval  of  fifteen  years,  the  poli- 
tical education  of  the  Servians  had  been  making  rapid 
progress.  A  national  party  was  slowly  forming,  embrac- 
ing the  great  majority  of  the  more  intelligent  and  pros- 
j>erous  classes  of  the  people,  which  was  inclined  to  offer 
a  strenuous  opposition  to  the  arbitrary  proceedings  of 
Milosch,  and  to  insist  upon  a  regular  government  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  forms  of  law.  The  demands  of  this 
powerful  party  at  length  became  too  loud  and  impera- 
tive to  be  resisted,  and  at  the  Skupschina  of  1835, 
Milosch  promised  to  convene  the  Senate,  to  appoint  a 
ministry,  and  to  govern  according  to  the  laws.  At  this 
assembly  a  charter  or  code  was  drawn  up,  consisting  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty-two  articles,  which  was  solemnly 
adopted,  and  was  thenceforth  to  be  the  law  of  the  lai^d. 

Milosch  did  not  keep  his  promise.  After  the  adop- 
tion of  this  code  his  government  was  more  arbitrary  and 
oppressive  than  it  had  been  before,  until  not  the  Servians 
alone,  but  the  Porte  and  the  Christian  Powers  became 
thoroughly  dissatisfied  with  his  course.  As  the  result, 
Milosch  was  compelled  to  abdicate  his  throne,  which  he 
did  in  1839,^  in  favor  of  his  eldest  son,  Milan,  retiring  to 
Austria. 

Milan  was  very  sick  at  the  time  of  his  father's  abdica- 
tion, and  soon  after  died.  Michael,  a  younger  son  of 
Milosch,  then  received  the  crown,  and  arrived  in  Servia 
from  Constantinople  on  the  12th  of  March,  1840.  The 
government  of  Prince  Michael  proved  no  more  accepta- 
ble to  the  Servians  than  that  of  his  father,  and  in  1842 
he  too  was  forced  to  retire. 

-  Milosch  was  deposed  June  13,  1839. — Forsyth,  p.  56. 


FREE  SERVIA.  413 

The  Servians  now,  with  one  voice,  demanded  Alexan- 
der, the  son  of  Kara  George,  for  their  Prince.  He  was 
accordingly  chosen,  by  the  Skupschina  in  September, 
1842,  and  by  the  people  in  a  free  and  popular  election  on 
the  15th  of  June,  1843.  The  government  of  Alexander 
Kara  Georgevitch  proved  mild,  successful,  and  eminently 
beneficial  to  the  country.  Roads  were  opened,  churches, 
plain  and  simple,  but  neat  and  commodious,  were  built 
everywhere  in  the  country  districts,  schools  were  multi- 
plied, and  a  great  impetus  given  to  the  social  and  mate- 
rial advancement  of  the  principality.  When  Mr.  Paton 
visited  Servia,  in  1 843-4,  he  found  a  people  living  in  peace 
and  quietness,  enjoying  comfort  and  abundance,  with 
"  not  a  trace  of  poverty,  vice,  or  misery."  ^  The  Moslem 
population  had  almost  entirely  disappeared,  except  in 
the  towns  held  as  fortresses  by  the  Porte,  and  these  were 
rapidly  dwindling  away.  The  authority  of  the  Pasha  of 
Belgrade  and  the  other  Turkish  officials  was  entirely 
limited  to  the  garrisons  and  the  people  of  their  own 
faith.  All  the  pecuniary  demands  of  the  Turks,  includ- 
ing the  rents  of  the  Spahis,  had  been  commuted  for  a 
small  annual  tribute,  and  the  Servians  felt  themselves 
to  be  essentially  and  truly  free. 

Alexander  Kara  Georgevitch  lived  and  ruled  on  the 
best  of  terms  with  the  Turks,  a  fact  to  which  was  largely 
owing  the  peace  and  prosperity  of  his  reign  for  many 
years.  In  the  Crimean  war  he  maintained  a  strict  neu- 
trality, for  which  he  received  from  the  Porte,  at  the  close 
of  the  war,  a  full  confirmation  of  the  liberties  of  his  prin- 
cipality. This  complacency  towards  their  old  enemies 
*  Servia,  p.  138. 


414  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS, 

and  oppressors,  however,  became  at  length  an  offence  in 
the  eyes  of  his  subjects,  and  wrought  his  overthrow  in 
the  end.  His  disposition  to  look  to  the  Turks  for  the 
support  of  his  own  power  and  the  punishment  of  his  per- 
sonal enemies,^  provoked  at  last  a  violent  opposition,  be- 
fore which  he  was  obliged  to  retire.  He  was  deposed 
from  the  government  in  December,  1857. 

With  that  fidelity  to  their  leaders  which  has  always 
characterized  their  race,  the  Servians  now  turned  to  their 
old  deliverer,  Milosch,  and  with  great  enthusiasm  brought 
him  back  to  his  throne.  Milosch  himself  was  now  very 
old ;  but  since  he  and  his  son  had  been  in  exile,  the  latter 
had  made  good  use  of  his  time.  He  had  traveled  much 
in  Europe,  and  had  qualified  himself  to  fill  ably  and  suc- 
cessfully the  high  position  which  he  was  destined  a  second 
time  to  hold.  In  1 860  Milosch  died,  and  Michael  Obren- 
ovitch  again  became  Prince  of  Servia.^ 

The  second  administration  of  Prince  Michael  was  emi- 
nently vigorous  and  successful.  He  foresaw  clearly  that 
there  must  come  sooner  or  later  another  and  decisive 
struggle  between  the  Slavonian  Christians  of  European 
Turkey  and  their  Ottoman  masters,  and  for  that  struggle 
he  set  himself  in  earnest  to  prepare.  He  gave  the  gov- 
ernment a  more  efficient  organization,  founded  an  arsenal, 
obtained  a  supply  of  arms,  and  enrolled  the  whole  adult 
male  population  of  the  principality  as  a  militia,  with  fifty 
thousand  men  ready  for  immediate  service,  and  seventy 
thousand  as  a  reserve.' 

^  Mackenzie  and  Irby,  p.  187. 

*  See  "The  Story  of  Serbia,"  Mackenzie  and  Irby,  chaps,  xii.  and  xiii. 

•  "All  this  was  due  to  the  energy  of  Prince  Michael,  whose  policy  was 
ta  place  his  country  in  such  a  position  that  she  might  have  a  voice  ia  tilM 


FREE  SERVZA.  415 

in  1862  occi.rred  an  event  which  led  to  a  result  for 
which  the  Servians  had  hardly  dared  to  hope — the  com- 
plete evacuation  of  the  Servian  fortresses  by  the  Turks. 
In  a  panic  occasioned  by  a  tumult  in  the  city,  and  an  at- 
tack upon  a  Turkish  guard-house,  the  Pasha  of  Belgrade 
bombarded  the  Christian  quarter  of  the  capital.  This 
"  untoward  event "  effectually  reopened  the  *'  Eastern 
Question."  The  Great  Powers  interfered,  and  the  Turks 
were  compelled  to  withdraw  their  last  soldier  from  the 
Servian  territories.  Since  that  time  a  simple  green  flag 
on  the  fortress  of  Belgrade  has  been  the  only  sign  of  Turk- 
ish power  in  Servia.^  The  reign  of  Prince  Michael  was 
brought  to  a  sudden  and  painful  close  by  his  assassination, 
in  June,  1868.  More  painful  still  it  is  to  record  that 
Alexander  Kara  Georgevitch  was  convicted  by  the  Aus- 
trian courts  of  complicity  in  this  great  crime,  for  which 
he  and  his  posterity  have  been  justly  declared  forever 
excluded  from  the  Servian  throne. 

Prince  Michael  was  succeeded  by  his  nephew,  Milan, 
then  a  boy  only  fourteen  years  of  age,  and  who,  until 
August,   1872,  when  he  came  of  age,^  remained   under 

councils  of  Europe  when  her  own  interests,  or  even  existence,  were  at 
Stake.  A  nation  of  a  million  and  a  half  unarmed  peasants  might  be  dis- 
posed of  with  as  little  regard  to  their  interests  as  if  they  were  so  many 
sheep ;  but  a  nation  that  could  summon  to  its  standard  one  hundred  thou- 
sand armed  men,  .  .  .  with  two  hundred  rifled  artillery,  .  .  . 
would,  as  the  Prince  judged,  be  listened  to.  All  these  ambitious  projects 
were  realized,  and  Servia  was  placed,  by  the  determination,  self-sacrifice, 
and  energy  of  Prince  Michael,  in  a  better  position  than  she  had  ever  been 
since  the  fatali  field  of  Kossovo  in  1389." — British  Quarterly  Review,  in 
Littell,  April  22.  1876,  p.  201. 

*  Forsyth,  p.  63. 

*  At  eighteen. 


4i6  TURKISH  SLAVONIANS, 

the  tutelage  of  a  regency.  When  the  late  disastrous 
war  with  Turkey  broke  out,  in  the  summer  of  1 876,  Prince 
Milan  was  but -twenty-one  years  of  age.  That  an  Inex- 
perienced youth  should  have  proved  himself  unequal  to 
the  tremendous  burden  thus  so  suddenly  thrown  upon 
him  need  not  excite  our  wonder.  In  the  opinion  of 
those  best  quahfied  to  judge,  the  young  Prince  Is  begin- 
ning to  show  himself  master  of  the  extremely  difficult 
position  in  which  he  is  placed,  and  to  give  promise  of  the 
same  ability  and  force  of  character  which  characterized 
his  predecessor.* 

Belgrade,  now  the  unfettered  capital  of  Servia,  al- 
though beautifully  located  and  strongly  fortified.  Is  but  a 
small  metropolis,  containing  a  population  of  something 
less  than  thirty  thousand  souls.  The  peninsular  fortress 
juts  out  into  the  river  exactly  against  the  point  of  land 
which  divides  the  Danube  from  the  Save.  From  the 
fortress  runs  back  the  street  or  esplanade,  which,  during 
the  Turkish  occupation,  divided  the  Moslem  half  of  the 
city  from  that  occupied  by  the  Christians.  The  Chris- 
tian quarter  sloped  upwards  to  the  Save  ;  the  Moslem 
quarter  lay  to  the  east  upon  the  Danube.  The  city  pre- 
sents a  very  quaint  and  motley  aspect.  It  is  not  well 
paved  or  lighted ;  and  fine  old  m.ansions  built  by  the 
Germans  in  the  days  of  Prince  Eugene  and  earlier,  are 
intermingled  with  ricketty  structures  of  Turkish  architec- 
ture, the  cheap  and  humble  dwellings  of  the  poor,  and 
the  ambitious  but  unfinished  edifices  and  squares  of  the 
government  and  magnates  of  the  present  day.     Here  are 

*  Eastern  Correspondence  London  Times,  in  **The  Mail,"  April  26^ 
1876. 


FREE  SERVIA,  4i7 

the  palace  of  the  Prince  and  the  offices  of  government, 
and  here  the  Servian  Skupschina  holds  its  sessions. 

The  changes  which  have  taken  place  in  the  constitution 
and  character  of  the  Skupschina  are  an  excellent  index 
to  the  political  progress  of  the  principality.  Formerly, 
the  Servian  Skupschina  was  convened  only  at  the  pleas- 
ure of  the  Prince,  who  summoned  individually  such  men 
as  he  pleased  from  the  several  districts.  When  in  ses- 
sion, the  functions  of  the  assembly  were  wholly  limited 
to  accepting  or  rejecting  such  measures  as  the  Prince  laid 
before  it.  With  such  a  diet,  or  parliament,  the  Servians 
soon  became  dissatisfied ;  and,  as  early  as  1 848,  an  or- 
ganic law  was  enacted  intended  to  make  the  Skupschina 
a  truly  representative  and  legislative  assembly.  During 
the  lifetime  of  Prince  Michael,  however,  and  under  the 
regency,  this  law  was  little  regarded,  and  things  continued 
much  as  they  had  been  before. 

But  the  time  at  length  came  when  the  voice  of  the 
nation  could  be  no  longer  unheeded,  and  in  1873  the  pro- 
posed changes  were  carried  into  effect  The  Skiipschina 
is  now  a  true  legislature,  clothed  with  formidable  powers. 
It  is  composed  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-four  members, 
of  which  one  hundred  and  one  are  chosen  at  a  popular 
election,  one  member  for  every  two  thousand  voters, 
while  the  remaining  thirty-three  are  still  named  by  the 
government  All  male  citizens  twenty-one  years  of  age, 
paying  taxes,  and  not  servants  or  Gypsies,  are  allowed  to 
vote.^ 

^  Forsyth,  p.  65.  There  are  about  25,000  Gypsies  in  Servia,  who  are, 
in  the  main,  industrious  and  useful  citizens.  They  fought  bravely  in  the 
war  of  the  Revolution,  are  mostly  settled,  and  employed  as  smiths,  farriers, 
dealers  in  live  stock,  &c 

IS* 


4i8  TURKISH  SLAVONIANS. 

The  Skfipschina  thus  constituted  soon  became  fully- 
conscious  of  its  power,  and  began  to  wage  a  relentless 
warfare  upon  the  army  of  placemen  and  employe's,  which, 
under  the  regency,  had  filled  the  country  and  exhausted 
the  resources  of  the  government.  In  the  autumn  of  1875, 
the  Skilpschina  is  described  as  made  up  mostly  of  village 
Kmetes  and  landed  proprietors,  plainly  dressed,  most  of 
them,  in  their  native  costume,  fine  looking  and  well 
meaning  men,  though  inexperienced,  and  sometimes  in- 
cHned  to  overstep  the  proper  limits  of  their  authority/ 
The  Senate  is  now  a  kind  of  Council  of  State,  consisting 
of  one  member  summoned  by  the  Prince  from  each 
nahia,  or  department.  The  population  of  the  principal- 
ity in  1872  was  estimated  at  one  million  and  one  hun- 
dred thousand. 

There  are  few  great  landholders  in  Servia.  The 
peasants  are  the  owners  of  the  lands  they  till,  and  in  no 
other  country  in  the  world,  perhaps,  is  there  a  nearer  ap- 
proach to  social  equality.  As  the  result  of  this  demo- 
cratic equality,  the  Servians  are  strongly  conservative, 
slow  to  adopt  even  improvements  and  reforms.  Capital 
has  accumulated  slowly,  and  the  most  needed  public 
works  have  been  sadly  neglected.  Railroads  there  are 
none,  and  highways  and  bridges  are  too  often  wanting. 
In  devotion  to  popular  education,  however,  the  Servians 
have  shown  a  commendable  zeal.  According  to  a  state- 
ment taken  apparently  from  ofBcial  sources,  in  1871  there 
were  in  Servia  four  hundred  and  eighty-four  primary 
schools,  with  six  hundred  and  five  teachers  and  twenty- 
five  thousand  two  hundred  and  seventy  scholars.  There 
>  **The  Mail,"  Nov.  5,  1875. 


FREE  SERVTA,  419 

are  also  ten  schools  of  a  higher  order,  and  three  dig- 
nified with  the  name  of  university.  It  is  said  also  that 
since  1869  libraries  have  been  established  in  connection 
with  every  primary  school,  and  that  at  the  end  of  two 
years  the  number  of  volumes  in  connection  with  these 
libraries  was  eighteen  thousand.  Among  the  schools 
there  were  forty-seven  for  girls,  with  sixty-four  female 
teachers  and  nearly  three  thousand  scholars. 

The  religious  wants  of  the  Servian  people  are  now  far 
better  supplied  than,  they  were  under  the  Turks,  or  in 
the  early  days  of  their  freedom.  Neat  whitewashed 
churches  adorn  the  villages,  in  which,  on  Sundays  and 
feast  days,  the  people  assemble  in  reverent  multitudes  to 
participate  in  the  ancient  services  of  their  Church.  And 
although  these  services  are  in  the  old  Slavonic,  the  lan- 
guage of  Cyril  and  Methodius,  this  is  not  so  far  a  dead 
language  that  it  is  not  easily  and  fully  understood  by 
the  people,  who  join  in  their  grand  old  hymns  with  a 
power  and  fervor  which  fill  the  traveler  from  the  West 
with  delighted  surprise.^ 

At  the  present  time  the  Servian  people  are  exciting  a 
very  deep  interest  among  the  older  communities  of  the 
West.  There  is  in  them  not  alone  the  weakness,  the  inex- 
perience, and  the  ignorance,  but  also  the  simplicity,  the 
freshness,  the  exuberant  vigor,  and  the  brilliant  promise 
of  early  youth.  They  stand,  in  the  long  course  of  their 
social  development,  where  the  English  people  stood  four 
hundred  years  ago.  They  are  a  people  whose  career  is 
yet  to  be  run,  whose  work  in  the  world  is  yet  to  be  done ; 
and  as  we  reflect  upon  the  many  interesting  and  excel* 
'  Paton,  p.  70. 


430  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS, 

lent  qualities  which  they  display,  we  cannot  doubt  that, 
in  the  not  distant  future,  they  have  some  great  part  to 
play  in  those  magnificent  regions,  so  long  blighted  by 
the  barbarian  tyranny  of  the  Turk. 


CHAPTER    VII. 


STARA  SERVIA,  HERZEGOVINA,  AND  BOSNIA^ 
THE  MORLAKS,  THE  USCOCS,  AND  THE  ML 
RIDITES. 

Stara  Servia,  or  01(J  Servia,  is  a  term  used  by  the 
Servians  to  denote  that  part  of  the  old  Servian  territory 
which  formed  the  central  seat  of  the  Empire  of  Stephen 
Dushan,  not  including  the  ancient  Zupania  of  Zenta.  It 
lies  on  both  sides  of  the  Balkan  ridge,  though  the  name 
is  usually  applied  in  a  more  restricted  sense  to  the  dis- 
trict still  under  Turkish  dominion  south  of  the  Balkans 
and  east  of  old  Zenta.  In  this  sense,  the  sense  in  which 
we  are  now  to  consider  it,  the  heart  of  Stara  Servia  is 
the  splendid  plain  of  the  Metochia,  in  north-eastern 
Albania.  In  this  beautiful  plain  were  Prizren,  the  Ser- 
vian czarigrad,  or  capital ;  Ipek,  the  seat  of  the  Servian 
'Patriarch ;  and,  micfway  between  these  two  cities,  the 
famous  church  of  Detchani,  the  most  magnificent  of  all 
the  Servian  ecclesiastical  edifices.  In  this  plain,  which 
was  called  the  garden  of  Servia,  most  of  the  higher  nobility 
had  their  residence.  It  thus  contained  a  great  part  of 
whatever  wealth,  refinement,  and  magnificence  the  Ser- 
vian Empire  could  boast.' 

*  Mackenzie  and  Irby,  chap.  ziiL 


422  TURKISH  SLAVONIANS, 

When  this  district  surrendered  to  the  Turks,  it  was 
upon  terms  which  seemed  very  hberal.  The  nobles  were 
to  retain  their  position  as  vassals  of  the  Sultan,  and  the 
people  were  to  enjoy  full  reHgious  freedom,  upon  pay- 
ment of  the  stipulated  tribute.  But  no  sooner  was  the 
Turkish  power  firmly  established,  than  this  mild,  paternal 
government  was  changed  to  the  most  terrible  oppression. 
The  noble  families  were  exterminated,  Christian  children 
were  carried  off,  the  girls  to  Turkish  harems  and  the  boys 
to  the  janizaries,  and  the  Christians  as  a  class  were 
crushed  into  unarmed  and  helpless  rayahs. 

But  at  length  the  tide  of  Turkish  conquest  turned ;  and 
the  Austrians,  having  cleared  their  own  territories  of  Mos- 
lem invaders,  called  upon  the  Servians  to  join  with  them 
in  driving  the  Turks  back  to  Constantinople.  The  Ser- 
vians rallied  at  this  call,  and  in  1689  the  Austrian  generals 
crossed  the  Save.  But  the  campaign  was  a  failure;  the 
Austrians  were  driven  back,  and  the  unhappy  Servians 
were  left  to  feel  the  full  terrors  of  Turkish  vengeance. 
Arsenius  Tzernoievitch,  the  Servian  Patriarch  at  this 
time,  a  man  of  great  energy  and  patriotism,  had  taken  a 
prominent  part  in  rousing  his  countrymen  to  arms.  Too 
deeply  compromised  to  remain  under  Turkish  rule,  and 
despairing  of  his  native  land,  at  the  invitation  of  the  Aus- 
trian government  he  migrated,  in  1690,  at  the  head  of 
thirty-seven  thousand  Servian  families,  across  the  Aus- 
trian frontier.  As  already  related,  these  emigrants  were 
settled  as  a  mlHtary  colony  to  guard  the  frontiers  of 
Christendom  against  the  Turks — a  duty  which  they  have 
ever  since  performed,  forming  an  invaluable  nursery  for 
the  Austrian  armies. 


THE  FRUSCA  GORA.  42^ 

But  these  exiles  have  not  forgotten  their  native  land 
The  patriotic  flame  burns  as  brightly  as  ever  in  their 
bosoms,  and  their  eyes  are  still  turned  in  constant  long- 
ing to  the  home  of  their  fathers.  Should  the  Turk  be 
driven  from  Stara  Servia,  many  of  them,  without  doubt, 
would  at  once  return  thither.  Significant  of  this  strong 
attachment  to  their  fatherland  is  the  fact  that  they  have 
consecrated  the  mountainous  peninsula  of  the  Frusca 
Gora,  between  the  Danube  and  the  Save,  to  these  pat- 
riotic memories.  Here  the  exiles  built  churches,  named 
after  those  which  they  had  left  behind,  and  in  one  of 
them  they  deposited  the  remains  of  their  last  sovereign, 
the  Tzar  Lazar.  "  The  day  of  the  battle  of  Kossovo  is 
observed  as  the  Tzar's  anniversary.  On  it,  thousands 
of  people  make  pilgrimages  to  his  shrine,  crowding 
around  the  open  cofRn  wherein  he  lies,  robed  in  the 
garments  in  which  he  fought  and  fell."  * 

This  great  migration  left  Stara  Servia  almost  depopu- 
lated. The  place  of  the  departed  Servians  was  gradually 
filled  by  truculent,  mercenary  Albanians,  who  mostly 
turned  Mohammedans,  and  who,  although  they  hate  and 
defy  the  Turks,  sadly  tyrannize  over  their  unarmed  Ser- 
vian neighbors.  To  make  the  matter  worse,  the  Servians 
of  this  region,  since  the  abolition  of  the  Servian  Patri- 

^  Mackenzie  and  Irby,  p.  249.  "  The  mummy  of  the  canonized  Knez 
Lazar  is  to  be  seen  to  this  day.  I  made  a  pilgrimage,  some  years  ago,  to 
Vrdnik,  a  retired  monastery  in  the  Frusca  Gora,  where  his  mummy  is ' 
preserved  with  the  most  rehgious  care,  in  the  church,  exposed  to  the  atmos- 
phere. It  is,  of  course,  shrunk,  shriveled,  and  of  a  dark  brown  color,  be- 
decked "vidth  an  antique  embroidered  mantle,  said  to  be  the  same  worn  at 
the  battle  of  Kossovo.  The  fingers  are  covered  with  the  most  costly  rings, 
tto  doubt  since  added." — Paton,  p.  227. 


19 


424  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS. 

archate,  have  had  the  tyranny  of  Greek  bishops  added 
to  that  of  the  Turks  and  Albanians.  Still,  their  present 
is  not  devoid  of  consolation,  nor  their  future  of  hope. 
The  grand  old  churches  of  their  fathers  still  exist  among 
them,  they  still  cherish  the  memories  of  their  ancient 
glory,  and  know  that  the  day  cannot  be  far  distant  when 
the  yoke  of  the  Turk  shall  be  broken  from  their  necks. 
Over  the  border,  but  a  few  hours  distant,  their  brethren 
of  Servia  and  Montenegro  are  already  free  ;  and  the  Al- 
banians themselves  would,  many  of  them,  be  ready  to 
welcome  a  Servian  force,  and  to  make  common  cause 
with  them  in  expelling  the  Turks. 

Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  since  the  Turkish  con- 
quest, have  usually  formed  a  single  vilayet,  or  province, 
Herzegovina  being  simply  a  sandjak  under  the  Vizier  of 
Bosnia.^  The  population  of  the  two  districts  is  similar 
in  race  and  character,  and  their  political  and  social  con- 
dition is,  and  under  the  Turks  has  always  been,  very 


^  In  1844,  Sir  Gardner  Wilkinson  found  the  Pasha  of  Mostar,  as  a  re- 
ward for  distinguished  services,  bearing  the  title  of  Vizier,  and  governing 
Herzegovina  with  a  jurisdiction  independent  of  the  Vizier  of  Bosnia. — Dal- 
matia  and  Montenegro,  ii.  72.  Since  the  breaking  out  of  the  insunrection, 
this  division  of  the  province  has  been  renewed.  Ali  Rizvan  Begovitch,  the 
host  of  Sir  Gardner  Wilkinson  in  1844,  was  a  Moslem  of  Servian  blood, 
and  one  of  the  hereditary  Kapetans,  or  Barons,  who  divided  among  them 
almost  the  whole  of  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina.  Under  the  Vizier  of  Bosnia, 
Ali  Rizvan  held  the  impregnable  fortress  of  Stolatz.  In  the  great  rebellion 
of  1828-32,  Ali  Rizvan  stood  firmly  for  the  Porte.  Anning  his  rayahs,  who 
fought  bravely  under  his  banner,  he  successfully  held  his  ground.  As  his 
reward,  he  was  named  Vizier  of  Herzegovina  It  was  the  arming  of  the 
Christians  in  this  long  and  desperate  struggle  which  prepared  the  way  for 
the  present  insurrection. — See  Ranke,  pp.  345-48. 


HERZEGOVINA,  \  425 

nearly  the  same.  After  some  preliminary  observations 
upon  Herzegovina,  therefore,  the  two  may  be  most  con- 
veniently spoken  of  together  as  the  Vilayet  of  Bosnia. 

Herzegmana,  divided  from  Bosnia  proper  by  a -low 
range  of  mountains,  is  the  Turkish  pashalik,  lying  north- 
west from  Montenegro,  and  bordering  on  Austrian  Dal- 
matia.  Excepting  the  small  corner  district  of  Turkish 
Croatia,  it  is  the  westernmost  region  of  the  Ottoman  do- 
minions in  Europe.  The  name  is  derived  from  the  title 
of  Herzog,"  or  Duke,  given  by  Tuartko,  King  of  Bos- 
nia, to  the  governor  of  the  province  in  1358.^  The 
pashalik  consists  of  the  extensive  and  fruitful  valley  of  the 
Narenta,  with  the  adjacent  highlands  and  niountains.  The 
Narenta  is  a  large  and  navigable  river ;  and  in  the  ninth 
century  the  Servian  tribes  upon  its  upper  waters,  issuing 
from  its  mouth  in  their  light  vessels,  proved  themselves 
formidable  pirates.  The  Narentines  of  those  days  were 
long  the  terror  of  the  Adriatic,  and  were  not  afraid  to 
match  their  strength  with  the  naval  forces  of  Venice.* 
Among  the  mountains  of  Herzegovina  there  are  some 
districts  which  have  never  been  effectually  subdued  by 
the  Turks ;  but  which,  strong  in  their  natural  defences, 
and  in  the  arms  of  a  warlike  population,  have  always  pre- 
served a  condition  of  semi-freedom  and  independence, 
protected  by  the  berats  of  successive  Sultans.^ 

The  religious  history  of  Herzegovina  and  Bosnia  is  very 
interesting.  In  the  twelfth,  thirteenth,  and  fourteenth 
centuries,  a  large  part,  sometimes  a  controlling  majority 
of  the  people  of  these  regions,  were  the  Protestants  of 

*  Wilkinson  ii.  96.  *  Id.,  ii.  il.  *  Ranke,  p.  359, 


426  ^      TURKISH  SLAVONIANS, 

the  East  A  branch  of  the  great  Paulician  sect/  which 
in  those  timeS;  under  the  names  of  Patereni,  Cathari,  Wal- 
denses,  and  Albigenses,  spread  itself  so  widely  in  Europe, 
became  very  numerous  among  all  the  South  Slavonic 
peoples.  These  Slavonian  Paulicians  were  called  Bogo- 
mili,  from  the  two  Slavonian  words,  Bog,  God,  and 
milai,  have  mercy.^  Of  the  social  and  intellectual  life 
of  these  Slavonian  Protestants  of  the  Middle  Ages  but 
little  is  known.  They  were  rude  and  ignorant,  and  some- 
times retaliated  upon  their  adversaries  the  cruelties  too 
often  suffered  at  their  hands.  But  in  the  earnestness  and 
consistency  of  their  protest  against  the  corruptions  which 
filled  the  churches  of  both  the  East  and  the  West,  they 
were  hardly  behind  the  reformers  of  a  later  day.^  Pursued 
with  anathemas  and  excommunication  by  the  Popes,  and 
often  persecuted  by  the  Hungarian  and  Bosnian  Kings, 
the  Bogomili  still  flourished,  and  were  able  to  hold  their 
ground  until  the  Turkish  conquest.  After  that  great 
catastrophe  they  disappear  from  history,  and  are  heard 
of  no  more. 

The  Christians  of  the  western  districts  of  the  old  Vila- 
yet of  Bosnia  are  now  divided  between  the  Greek  and 
Papal  Churches ;  *  the  Catholics  being  chiefly  found  in 
Turkish  Croatia,  and  in  Herzegovina  upon  the  right  or 
western  bank  of  the  Narenta.  The  Catholics  of  Herze- 
govina are  under  the  rule  of  monks  of  the  Order  of  St. 
Francis,  and  have  kept  aloof  from  the  present  insurrec- 
tion. 

*  See  above,  Part  I.  chap.  iv.       *  Wilkinson,  ii.  98.       *  Id.,  ii.  104-5. 

*  Their  numbers  are  estimated  at  576,756  of  the  Greek  faith,  and  185,. 
503  Catholics  —Forsyth,  p.  86. 


VENETIAN  CHRONICLES.  427 

I^ng  before  the  Turkish  conquest  the  Venetians  had 
estabHshed  themselves  upon  the  Dalmatian  coast,  and 
Herzegovina  was,  for  many  generations,  the  scene  of  a 
petty  but  constant  warfare  between  the  RepubHc  and  its 
Moslem  neighbors.  Of  these  affairs  full  and  minute 
accounts  were  sent  home  by  the  Venetian  agents,  which 
are  still  in  existence,  and  some  of  which  have  been  given 
to  the  world.  The  reader  will  find  long  extracts  from 
these  old  documents  in  Sir  Gardner  Wilkinson's  admira- 
ble work,^  which  he  will  peruse,  probably,  with  as  much 
surprise  as  instruction.  They  are  not  at  all  the  dry, 
formal,  heartless  communications  which  we  might  expect 
from  a  secret  agent  of  the  Venetian  Senate.  On  the  con-: 
trary,  they  are  full  to  overflowing  of  Hfe  and  incident, 
and  even  of  kind  and  generous  feeUng.  They  present, 
perhaps,  the  most  vivid  and  graphic,  and  at  the  same 
time  truthful  portraiture  of  the  life  and  character  of  the 
Turks  as  they  appeared  to  their  neighbors  in  the  golden 
age  of  Ottoman  power,  which  is  now  in  existence.  They 
show  that  in  the  Turks  of  those  times,  with  a  great 
deal  of  overbearing  insolence,  of  lawlessness  and  violence, 
there  was  also  much  of  manly  dignity,  of  chivalrous 
honor,  of  conscientious  morality,  and  of  kindness  and  hu- 
manity. "  I  relate  these  circumstances,"  says  one  of  these 
agents,  "  that  your  Excellencies  may  perceive  on  what 
terms  we  are  with  the  Turks  ;  and  it  may  be  truly  affirmed 
that  no  nation  are  all  evil  alike ;  seeing  how  some  of  them 
are  without  conscience,  laws,  or  honor,  while  others  are 
true  and  loyal  cavaliers;  who  if  they  pledge  their  faith, 
keep  it  as  honestly  as  if  they  were  of  our  own  holy  relig- 

*  Vol  ii.  chap.  ix. 


428  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS, 

ion;  an  instance  whereof  your  Excellency  may  have 
heard  by  the  mouth  of  the  Honorable  Supercargo  Mali- 
piers,  of  the  Chersonese  galley,  touching  that  good  and 
upright  Turk  Belusso. 

"  It  so  happened  that  Alet,  the  son  of  the  Dasdar,  ran 
off  to  Clissa  with  a  daughter  of  Gaspar  Tonielli ;  .  .  . 
and  grief  brought  the  poor  father  well  nigh  to  death's 
door;  which,  coming  to  the  ears  of  Belusso,  who  had  often 
had  dealings  with  him  in  the  way  of  business,  he  went  to 
the  Dasdar,  and  told  him  how  his  son  had  carried  away 
the  girl,  which  is  a  crime  prohibited  by  the  Koran  and 
their  Prophet  Mahomet.  Whereupon  the  old  father,  being 
a  strict  follower  of  their  law,  summoned  his  son,  and  in- 
sisted on  his  restoring  the  damsel  forthwith ;  and  accord- 
ingly she  was  given  up  to  the  charge  of  Belusso,  with  all 
tenderness  and  respect.  Gaspar,  weeping,  flung  his  arms 
round  Belusso,  and  swore  that  he  looked  on  him  as  his 
brother,  and  should  never  cease  to  bear  witness  and  pro- 
claim, to  the  very  ends  of  the  world,  where  he  might 
wander,  even  to  those  far  lands  first  beholden  by  the 
Spaniards,  the  generous  compassion  shown  by  a  Turkish 
noble  heart  to  an  enemy  in  affliction  and  disgrace.  And 
he  would  have  continued  to  bewail  the  dishonor  of  his 
family,  had  not  Belusso  stopped  him,  .  .  .  promising 
that  in  six  days  he  would  bring  back  from  Alet  a  decla- 
ration, written  and  subscribed  in  due  form,  that  Madde- 
lena  had  in  nowise  wronged  her  family,  and  might  walk 
with  an  unsullied  brow  in  the  light  of  the  sun.  .  .  . 
He  was  as  good  as  his  word ;  and  in  the  space  of  five 
days  returned  with  the  certificate,  solemnly  attested  and 
signed,  according  to  his  promise."  ^ 
*  Wilkinson,  ii.  342. 


HERZEGOVINA,  429 

The  soil  of  Herzegovina  is  less  rich  than  that  of  Bosnia 
and  Servia,  its  scenery  is  less  beautiful  and  picturesque. 
Yet  it  is  a  fine  and  fruitful  country,  full  of  minerals,  and 
in  its  navigable  river,  and  its  proximity  to  the  Adriatic, 
enjoying  every  opportunity  for  great  prosperity  and  rapid 
development.  But,  like  every  other  province  of  the  Tur- 
kish Empire,  it  is  remarkable  only  for  the  miserable  wast- 
ing of  the  riches  which  nature  has  lavished  upon  it.  Its 
resources  are  undeveloped,  its  mineral  wealth  is  almost 
wholly  neglected,  its  rich  lowlands  are  undrained  and 
filled  with  deadly  malaria,  its  fertile  hillsides  are  either 
half  tilled  01  wholly  uncultivated,  and  everywhere  among 
its  sparse  and  scanty  population  there  is  seen  only  pov- 
erty and  wretchedness,  where  there  ought  to  be  wealth, 
comfort,  and  steadily  advancing  prosperity. 

Bosnia  proper,  like  Servia,  only  to  a  far  greater  extent, 
is  largely  a  magnificent  wilderness.  Save  in  their  splen- 
did and  ever- varying  scenery,  and  their  exuberant  fruit- 
fulness,  these  wild  barbarian  regions  present  little  that  is 
attractive  to  the  Western  eye.  So  far  as  the  handiwork 
of  unaided,  unobstructed  nature  is  concerned,  they  are 
indeed  most  beautiful.  In  the  words  of  Prof  Ranke, 
"The  richest  vegetation  is  produced  spontaneously  by 
nature,  and  comes  forth  and  fades  away,  year  after  year, 
unnoticed  and  unused.  No  eye  enjoys  its  beauty,  no 
botanist  has  described  its  flora.  In  many  cases  the  rich- 
est pastures  have  no  owners.  The  mountain  heights  are 
crowned  with  large  trees,  of  which  stately  ships  and  tall 
masts  might  be  made ;  for  there  is  no  want  of  rivers  to 
float  the  timber  down  to  the  coast ;  but  no  one  thinks  of 
turning  these  natural  advantages  to  account.     It  is  left  tc 


430  TVRKISH  SLAVONIANS. 

nature,  in  her  own  appointed  periods,  to  consume  what 
she  has  produced."  * 

When  we  turn  from  the  realm  of  nature  to  that  of 
man,  we  find  a  prospect  altogether  repugnant  to  the  cul- 
tivated mind.  Society  is  rude,  barbarous,  chaotic.  The 
old  mediaeval  order  of  things,  changed  but  not  destroyed 
by  the  Turkish  conquest,  has  been  overturned.  The  new 
order  of  things  is  yet  in  its  incipient  stage,  and,  to  the 
casual  observer,  gives  little  promise  of  that  which,  with- 
out doubt,  it  is  in  due  time  destined  to  become.  It  is 
not  until  we  look  forward  to  the  future,  and  consider  the 
position  which  the  people  of  these  provinces,  who  are 
now  gradually  emancipating  themselves  from  the  terrible 
effects  of  long  centuries  of  oppression,  and  slowly  rising 
into  a  new  social  and  political  life,  are  destined  to  hold 
in  that  great  Slavonic  state  which  must  one  day  form  it- 
self in  the  magnificent  region  lying  between  the  Danube 
and  the  Kingdom  of  Greece,  that  we  see  the  importance 
of  the  movements  now  going  on  in  these  regions,  and 
learn  to  look  at  them  with  the  interest  which  they  de- 
serve. 

In  considering  these  movements,  we  may  now  enlarge 
the  limits  of  Bosnia,  and  regard  it  as  co- extensive  with 
the  old  vilayet  of  that  name,  including  Turkish  Croatia 
and  Herzegovina,  with  its  four  or  five  subordinate  pasha- 
liks,  its  Vizier  residing  at  Travnik,  but  looking  upon  the 
important  city  of  Seraivo,  or  Bosna-Serai,  as  its  provin- 
cial capital. 

As  has  been  already  observed,^  the  Servian  nobles 
were  properly  an  aristocracy  of  officials,  without  great 
^  Servia  and  Bosnia,  P*  S'S*  ^  See  above,  chap.  iii. 


BOSNIAN  NOBLES,  431 

landed  estates.  But  in  these  north-western  regions, 
Hungarian  and  German  influences  had  essentially  modi- 
fied the  original  structure  of  Servian  society.  The  no- 
bles became  landed  proprietors,  with  a  position  much 
more  nearly  resembling  that  of  the  barons  of  Western 
Europe.  At  the  Turkish  conquest,  these  Bosnian  (or 
more  properly,  Bosniac)  nobles,  to  save  their  estates 
and  their  power,  turned  Mohammedans,  and  became 
Turkish  Begs  or  Aghas.^  Under  the  Sultans,  they  thus 
formed  a  turbulent  aristocracy,  a  confederacy  or  oligar- 
chy of  nobles  almost  independent  of  the  Turks,  and  far 
more  powerful  than  before.  Their  castles  formed  the 
centres  of  life  and  activity  in  their  several  districts,  and 
under  their  local  and  hereditary  rule,  even  their  Christian 
subjects  enjoyed  some  measure  of  protection  and  pros- 
perity. Bosnia  was  one  of  the  rudest  and  most  back- 
ward districts  of  the  Servian  Empire.  It  had  but  few 
churches  or  monasteries;  and  this  imperfect  establish- 
ment of  the  Servian  Church  among  them  was  probably 
one  reason  why  the  Bosnians  proved  so  ready  to  aban- 
don their  religion. 

In  the  good  old  times,  these  Bosnian  nobles,  or  Kape- 
tans,  of  whom  there  were  forty-eight  in  the  Vizierat,^ 
lived  in  rude  and  warlike  independence,  much  like  the 
great  barons  of  France  and  Germany  in  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury. They  were  all  of  Slavonic  blood,  still  retained  their 
Slavonic  language,  customs,  and  names,  hated  the  Turks, 
and  despised  the  officials  of  the  Sultan.  A  Vizier,  who 
was  not  a  native  of  the  vilayet,  was  appointed  by  the 
Porte,  but  was  able  to  exercise  little  more  than  a  rom- 

*  Ranke,  p.  317.  *  Ranke,  p.  318 


432  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS, 

inal  authority.  The  nobles  went  on  fighting  with  one 
another,  or  with  him,  very  much  as  they  pleased.  They 
would  not  suffer  the  Vizier  to  Hve,  nor  to  remain  for  more 
than  one  night,  in  Seraivo,  their  capital,  but  compelled 
him  to  hold  his  official  residence  at  Travnik. 

Thus  things  went  on  until,  in  the  first  quarter  of  the 
present  century.  Sultan  Mahmoud  entered  upon  his  great 
project  of  "  reform."  Against  the  sweeping  changes 
then  undertaken,  the  Bosnian  nobles  of  course  arrayed 
themselves  in  deadly  hostility.  They  had  no  idea  of 
sinking  into  mere  tools  and  helpless  servants  of  the  offi- 
cial slaves  of  the  capital.  Their  neighbor,  Mustapha 
Pasha  of  Scutari,  expressed  the  feeling  and  determination 
of  every  one  of  them,  when  he  declared  that  he  would 
serve  the  Sultan  with  the  same  firelock  and  in  the  same 
manner  as  his  fathers  had  before  him,  and  no  other.^ 
The  great  struggle  then  begun,  between  the  central  gov- 
ernment at  Constantinople  and  the  Bosnian  nobles,  has 
occasioned  the  great  and  radical  change  in  the  condition 
of  the  whole  vilayet,  which  has  taken  place  within  the 
past  fifty  years,  and  of  which,  in  the  late  insurrection, 
we  see  "  the  beginning  of  the  end." 

About  the  year  1815,  Sultan  Mahmoud  resolved  up- 
on a  great  effort  to  subdue  the  refractory  nobles  of 
Bosnia.^  The  conflict  then  inaugurated  continued  until 
long  after  the  death  of  Mahmoud,  in  1839,  and  was  only 
ended  by  the  vigorous  measures  of  the  famous  Omei 
Pasha  in  185 1. 

The  tedious  history  of  this  long  struggle  we  have  no 
occasior  to  follow.  Sometimes  an  able  and  crafty  Vizier 
»  Ranke,  p.  337.  ^  Ranke,  p.  322, 


BOSNIAN  BEGS.  ^  433 

would  succeed  in  reducing  the  nobles  to  temporary  sub- 
mission ;  then  they  would  rally,  and,  gathering  a  strong 
military  force,  drive  the  representative  of  the  Sultan 
from  the  country.  The  fatal  weakness  of  the  Bosnian 
nobles,  as  of  all  the  local  magistrates  of  the  Empire  so 
ruthlessly  crushed  by  Sultan  Mahmoud,  was  in  their  di- 
vided interests,  and  their  lack  of  unanimity  and  cohesion. 
By  intrigue  and  bribery,  the  subtle  Viziers,  always  per- 
fect masters  in  the  arts  of  duplicity  and  cunning,  were 
able  to  break  up  their  most  powerful  combinations,  to 
defeat  their  best  laid  plans.  In  183 1,  the  famous  Mus- 
tapha  Pasha  of  Scutari^  (Scodra  Pasha,  as  the  Turks 
called  him),  at  the  head  of  forty  thousand  men,  and  with 
the  whole  force  of  the  Bosnian  nobles  at  his  back,  started 
on  what  seemed  sure  to  prove  a  triumphant  and  almost 
unresisted  march  upon  Constantinople.  It  was  univer- 
sally believed  that  the  city  would  fall,  that  Mahmoud 
would  be  dethroned.  But  Reschid  Pasha,  the  able  and 
crafty  Grand  Vizier,  proved  equal  to  the  emergency. 
The  Bosnians  were  bought  off  by  large  and  specious 
promises ;  the  officers  of  Mustapha  were  corrupted,  and 
his  whole  army  was  filled  with  traitors  to  his  cause.  As 
the  result,  this  mighty  and  threatening  movement  came 
to  nothing.  ^  Reschid  Pasha  laid  siege  to  Scutari,  the  city 
was  taken  and  subjected  to  horrible  cruelties,  Mustapha 
Pasha  himself  was  captured  and  exiled,  and  the  ancient 
reign  of  the  Bushatlia  was  brought  to  an  end.^ 

But  this  long  conflict,  thus  going  on  with  ever- varying 
success,  was  steadily  working  out  the  emancipation  of 

^  The  Slavonian  "  Turk  "  who  was  defeated  by  Marco  Bozzaris* 
■  Ranke,  pp.  340-44. 

19 


434  TURKISH  SLAVONIANS, 

the  Rayahs.  On  the  one  hand,  it  was  an  essential  feature 
of  the  new  policy  of  "  reform  "  to  raise  the  Christians  of 
the  Empire  more  nearly  to  the  level  of  their  Moslem 
neighbors.  The  government  thus  appealed  to  them 
strongly  to  take  its  part  in  its  struggle  with  their  tyran- 
nical lords.  The  nobles,  on  the  other  hand,  appealed  to 
them  in  self-defence,  and  armed  them  in  their  own  ser» 
vice.  Thus,  through  this  intestine  conflict  of  their  ene- 
mies, the  long  oppressed  Christians  of  these  provinces 
were  gradually  taught  to  feel  their  power,  and  to  stand 
up  for  the  defence  of  their  own  rights. 

At  length,  about  the  year  1845,  the  able  and  energetic 
Tahir  Pasha  was  sent  to  Bosnia,  commissioned  entirely 
to  crush  out  the  old  refractory  spirit.  The  new  Vizier 
entered  upon  his  work  with  a  display  of  justice  and  lib- 
erality rarely  seen  in  a  Turk,  and  with  such  vigor  and 
wisdom  that,  in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  he  achieved  a 
complete  success.*  The  Rayahs  learned  to  regard  him 
as  their  guardian  angel.  He  abolished  every  kind  of 
forced  labor,  and  reduced  all  their  numberless  exactions 
to  a  single  tax,  which  was  never  to  exceed  a  third  of 
the  crop,  and  which  was  to  be  fixed,  not  by  the  Moslem 
landlords,  but  by  the  elders  of  each  village.  On  the 
other  hand,  he  applied  the  bastinado  without  mercy  to 
the  haughty  Spahis  and  other  petty  tyrants  who  re- 
sisted the  Sultan's  commands. 

Things  were  in  this  condition  when  the  revolutions  of 
1 848  broke  out,  followed  by  the  Hungarian  war.  These 
events  acted  upon  the  troubled  elements  of  Bosnian  soci- 
ety like  fire  upon  a  magazine  of  powder.^  The  whole 
*  Servia  and  Bosnia,  p.  377.  '  Id.,  p.  37& 


REVOLUTIONS  OF  1848.  435 

Bosnian  race,  Moslem  and  Christian  alike,  seemed  all  at 
once  to  remember  its  unity  and  its  common  blood.  With 
high  enthusiasm,  and  a  vehement  energy  of  purpose,  the 
Slavonians  of  both  religions  in  these  regions  determined 
to  throw  off  the  Turkish  yoke  and  establish  their  inde- 
pendence. Tahir  Pasha  saw  at  once  the  hopelessness  of 
endeavoring  to  resist  a  movement  like  this.  At  his  sug- 
gestion the  Porte  consented  to  treat  with  the  leaders  of 
the  insurrection,  and,  in  1849,  ^  kind  of  Slavic  congress 
was  convened  at  Travnik.  No  sooner,  however,  was  this 
congress  assembled,  than  it  appeared  how  impossible  it 
was  for  Moslems  and  Christians  to  act  together  with 
common  sympathies  and  a  common  purpose.  To  make 
the  matter  worse,  the  Bosnians  found  themselves  without 
allies.  Neither  the  Servians,  nor  their  neighbors  of  Scu- 
tari, nor  the  Montenegrins,  would  make  common  cause 
with  them.  Seeing  this  state  of  things,  the  Porte  ordered 
Tahir  to  dismiss  the  congress,  and  stand  on  the  defen- 
oive.  This,  however,  was  more  than  he  could  do.  The 
deputies  dismissed  the  Vizier,  and  scattered  to  fan  the 
flames  of  war  in  their  several  districts. 

But  the  task  to  which  Tahir  thus  found  himself  un- 
equal was  speedily  and  effectually  accomplished  by  the 
rapid  movements  and  energetic  measures  of  Omer  Pasha 
in  1850  and  1851.^  Appearing  suddenly  in  the  heart 
of  the  country,  and  leaving  strong  bodies  of  insurgents 
unnoticed  behind  him,  he  proclaimed  the  absolute 
equahty  before  the  law  of  all  classes  of  the  people, 
broke  by  a  few  decisive  blows  both  the  power  and  the 
spirit  of  the  rebellion,  and  hunted  down  the  more 
» Id.,  pp.  387-90. 


436  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS. 

Stubborn  and  rebellious  of  the  nobles  in  their  moun- 
tain  fastnesses  like  wild  beasts.  Travnik  was  aban- 
doned as  the  residence  of  the  Vizier ;  Omer  Pasha,  now 
Roumeli-Valesi,  established  himself  triumphantly  in  Se- 
raivo,  and  "  order  reigned "  in  Bosnia. 

Thus,  the  new  order  of  things,  and  one  with  which, 
for  the  time  at  least,  the  Rayahs  had  good  reason  to  be 
satisfied,  was  firmly  and  finally  established.  The  old 
nobles  have  never  recovered  their  power  or  their  social 
influence.  Still  the  oppressive  landlords  of  the  Rayahs, 
they  are  almost  as  helpless  and  as  poor.  They  are  ex- 
cluded from  office,  their  castles  are  crumbling  to  ruin, 
their  haughty  spirit  and  fiery  courage  are  gone,  they 
are  debased,  ignorant,  and  corrupt' 

As  soon  as  Omer  Pasha  had  made  himself  master  of 
the  country,  he  convened  all  the  Turkish  officials  at 
Travnik,  and  read  in  their  hearing  the  new  firmans  by 
which  Moslems  and  Christians  alike  were  from  that  time 
to  be  subject  to  the  same  taxes  and  the  same  military 
conscription.  At  the  same  time  he  displayed  all  possi- 
ble clemency,  kept  his  soldiers  under  steady  discipline, 
went  about  the  country  explaining  and  enforcing  the 
new  regulations.  If  there  were  any  such  thing  as  order, 
or  efficiency,  or  consistent  practical  statesmanship  about 
the  Turkish  government,  these  changes  would  have  per- 
manently benefited  the  Bosnian  Christians.  But  no  such 
result  has  followed.  Here,  as  in  Asia  Minor,  the  de- 
struction of  the  local  nobility  has  only  wrought  the  ruin 

^  Forsyth,  p.  82.  They  are  showing  by  their  present  conflict  with  the 
Austrians  (September,  1878)  that  something  of  their  old  spirit  and  courage 
still  remains. 


BOSNIAN  *' TURKS."*  439 

of  the  country.  Like  all  Turkish  "reforms,"  the  change 
in  Bosnia  left  the  state  of  society  worse  than  before.  A 
swarm  of  officials,  constantly  changed,  drained  the  Hfe- 
blood  of  the  people,  and  the  unhappy  Rayahs  soon 
found  that,  to  them,  the  only  result  of  the  revolution 
had  been  to  impose  upon  them  two  sets  of  profligate  and 
rapacious  t3a-ants,  when  before  they  had  had  but  one. 
It  long  ago  became  clear  that  to  these  oppressed  Slavo- 
nians there  is  but  one  door  of  escape  from  the  terrible 
bondage  under  which  they  groan ;  and  that  this  door  is 
the  one  through  which  the  Servians  have  already  passed 
to  freedom  and  prosperity. 

In  natural  endowments,  the  Bosnians  are  a  very  supe- 
rior race.  In  the  days  of  Ottoman  greatness  and  military 
supremacy,  the  Bosnian  cavaliers,  tall  and  athletic,  full 
of  vigor  and  martial  fire,  were  the  glory  of  the  Turkish 
armies.  In  the  midst  of  the  poverty,  the  wretchedness, 
the  complete  demoralization  of  Bosnian  society  at  the 
present  time,  these  natural  characteristics  of  the  race  are 
still  preserved,  the  certain  promise  of  better  things  to 
come. 

The  great  obstacle  to  the  speedy  and  complete  eman- 
cipation of  the  Slavonians  of  these  provinces  is  found  in 
the  fact  that  more  than  one-third  of  their  number,^  em- 
bracing all  the  Begs,  Aghas,  and  Spahis,  all  the  landlords 
and  local  aristocracy  and  gentry,  of  whatever  name,  are 
Mohammedans.  For  centuries  the  Bosnian  Moslems 
have  been  exceedingly   zealous,   and    even  fanatical  in 

^  The  population  of  the  old  Vilayet  of  Bosnia  is  given  at  1,216,856, 
divided  as  follows:  Mohammedans,  442,050;  Christians,  762,259;  Jews, 
3,000 ;  Gypsies,  9j537-— Forsyth,  p.  iJ6. 


438  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS. 

their  religion.  Yet,  for  all  this,  their  apostate  faith  has 
never  struck  deep  root  in  the  national  nind,  and  is,  with- 
out doubt,  destined  at  no  distant  day  to  pass  away. 
Their  seeming  devotion  has  had  its  chief  support,  not  so 
much  in  any  depth  of  conviction  as  in  a  feeling  of  aris- 
tocratic pride.  "  By  this  craft  we  have  our  wealth." 
The  Bosnian  "  Turks  "  have  always  remained  as  true  Sla- 
vonians as  their  Christian  brethren  ;  and,  more  than  this, 
have  all  the  while  retained  a  secret  reverence  for  the 
religion  of  their  fathers — a  secret  feeling  that  that  relig- 
ion was  again  to  become  the  common  faith  of  their  race. 
It  is  said  that  a  Bosnian  Beg  has  sometimes  taken  a 
Christian  priest  with  him  to  the  cemetery,  in  the  dark- 
ness of  the  night,  that  he  might  bless  the  graves  of  his 
ancestors  and  pray  for  their  souls. ^  With  all  its  fanati- 
cism the  Mohammedanism  of  the  Bosnians  is  but  a  super- 
ficial faith,  which  the  progress  of  liberal  ideas  and  of  the 
Christian  influences  of  the  West  will  ere  long  banish  from 
the  land.  The  Bosnian  nobles  and  landlords  are  bitterly 
hated  by  their  own  rayahs,  whom  they  grievously  oppress; 
but  they  in  turn  hate  the  Turks,  while  they  are  on  very 
good  terms  with  their  Slavic  kindred  both  north  and  south 
of  the  Austrian  frontier.^  If  the  Turkish  yoke  were 
once  effectually  broken,  they  would  probably  have  little 
diflftculty  in  accepting  the  new  order  of  things. 

It  remains  to  give  some  brief  account  of  two  classes 
of  Slavonians,  whose  names  are  frequently  met  with  in 
the  history  of  these  regions  for  the  past  three  hundred 
years — the  Morlaks,  or  Morlacchi,  and  the  Uscocs. 

The  Morlaks,  at  the  present  time,  form  a  large  propor- 
*  Kanke,  p  317.  *  See  Mackenzie  and  Irby,  pp.  290^3. 


THE  MORLAKS.  439 

tion  of  the  peasant  population  of  Austrian  Dalmatia.^ 
They  were  originally  Slavonian  shepherds  upon  the  hills 
of  Bosnia  and  Croatia ;  but  steadily  retiring  as  the  Turks 
overran  the  country,  they  finally  took  refuge  upon  the 
seacoast  in  the  territories  of  Venice.  The  hospitality 
thus  shown  them  they  royally  repaid.  They  continued 
to  serve  the  proud  and  selfish  Republic  with  intrepid 
valor  and  loyal  devotion,  until,  in  1797,  amid  their  tears 
and  bitter  grief,  the  Lion  of  St.  Mark  was  humbled  at 
the  feet  of  Napoleon.  Although  they  are  Roman  Catho- 
lics in  rehgion,  and  have  now  lived  for  more  than  three 
hundred  years  under  powerful  Italian  influences,  the  Mor- 
laks  still  retain  the  language,  the  customs,  and  the  man- 
ner of  life  of  their  ancestors  upon  the  Bosnian  hills.  In 
the  service  of  Venice  they  learned  to  love  the  sea,  and 
they  now  furnish  most  of  the  seamen  for  the  Austrian 
navy.  Their  houses  are  mere  comfortless  cabins,  and 
they  are  poor,  ignorant,  and  rude  ;  but,  hke  all  the  South 
Slavonic  peoples,  they  are  hardy  and  athletic,  simple- 
hearted,  earnest,  and  loyal,  well  worthy  of  the  better 
fortunes  which  await  them  in  years  to  come. 

The  Uscocs,^  for  a  hundred  years  the  terror  of  the  up- 
per Adriatic,  are  now  little  more  than  the  memory  of 
wild  exploits  and  evil  times  long  since  passed  away. 
They  were  originally  a  body  of  Slavonian  fugitives  from 
Turkish  oppression,  who,  about  the  year  1520,  taking 
possession  of  Clissa,  a  strong  fortress  some  ten  miles  in- 
land from  the  Venetian  town  of  Spalato,  carried  on  a 
vigorous  partisan  war  with  the  Turks.     Clissa  soon  feU 

*  Wilkinson,  ii.  152-80,  293-6. 

*  Wilkinson,  384,  430.     The  name  Usoocs  signifies  fugitives* 


440  TURKISH  SLAVONIANS, 

into  the  hands  of  the  Turks,  when  the  Uscocs  moved  up 
the  coast  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  to  the  Austrian 
town  of  Segna,  upon  the  intricate  interior  passages  of  the 
Gulf  of  Carnero.  Secure  in  this  retreat,  partly  from  its 
inaccessible  situation  and  partly  from  the  apathy,  the  in- 
efficiency, or  the  connivance  of  the  German  and  Austrian 
authorities,  they  maintained  themselves  a  nest  of  daring 
and  terrible  pirates  and  freebooters  for  almost  a  century. 
The  most  desperate  spirits  from  every  part  of  Europe 
were  drawn  to  their  ranks,  and  in  a  body  of  them  who 
were  taken  and  executed  in  i6l8,  there  were  nine  Eng- 
lishmen, five  of  whom  were  of  the  rank  of  gentlemen.  At 
length  the  general  outcry  of  Europe  compelled  the  im- 
perial government  to  interfere,  and  about  the  year  1625 
the  Uscocs  were  scattered  and  their  piracies  brought  to 
an  end.  Most  of  them  were  removed  to  inland  settle- 
ments in  the  neighborhood  of  Carlstadt.  Some  of  them, 
it  would  seem,  found  refuge  among  the  mountains  of 
Montenegro,  where  their  descendants  have  never  ceased 
to  carry  on  the  old  war  with  the  Turks.  We  have  lately 
read  of  bands  of  Uscocs  from  the  borders  of  Montenegro 
among  the  insurgents  in  Herzegovina. 

There  is  one  other  name  which  has  frequently  appeared 
during  the  past  two  years  in  the  military  reports  from 
the  neighborhood  of  Lake  Scutari — the  Miridites.  The 
Miridites  are  a  wild  and  lawless  clan  of  Papal  Christian 
Albanians,  inhabiting  the  mountainous  district,  a  vast 
natural  fortress,  lying  south-east  from  Scutari,  and  in- 
closed by  the  great  horseshoe  bend  of  the  Drina  River 
Their  capital  is  the  town  or  village  of  Oroschi.  They 
number  about  twenty  thousand  souls,  with  six  or  seven 


THE  MIRIDITES,  44I 

thousand  fighting  men.  In  the  late  war  the  Miridites 
and  Montenegrins  made  common  cause  in  fighting  the 
Turks,  although,  owing  to  their  difference  of  faith,  they 
have  not  usually  been  on  friendly  terms.  Bib  Doda,  the 
hereditary  Prenk  or  Chief  of  the  Miridites,  had  been  de- 
tained for  eight  years  at  Constantinople,  and  did  not  show 
himself  a  man  of  much  courage  or  ability.^ 

^  For  an  account  of  the  Miridites,  with  a  map  of  their  country,  see  Lon- 
don Mail  (tri-weekly  edition  of  the  London  Times),  April  16  and  2^ 
X877. 

19* 


CHAPTER   VIII. 


THE   MODERN   BULGARIANS. 

The  Bulgarians  are  the  most  numerous  of  all  the  Chris- 
tian peoples  at  present  within  the  limits  of  the  Turkish 
Empire.  Including  the  Mohammedans,  who  are  perhaps 
a  third  of  the  whole,  the  Bulgarian  nation  numbers  about 
four  and  a  half  millions  of  souls.  Mingled  with  the  Bul- 
garians are  many  Mohammedans  of  other  races.  Con- 
siderable Turkish  colonies  were  settled  in  the  principal 
towns ;  great  numbers  of  Nogai  Tartars  have  fixed  them- 
selves in  the  low-lying  districts  adjoining  the  Black  Sea ; 
and  of  late  years  the  Turkish  government  has  endeavored; 
though  not  very  successfully,  to  form  upon  the  Servian 
border  a  kind  of  military  frontier  of  Circassian  settlers. 

There  is  a  broad  separation  between  the  Turks  in  Bul- 
garia and  the  Mohammedan  Bulgarians.  The  latter  de- 
test the  former,  and  are  mostly  settled  in  the  country, 
the  majority  of  them,  probably  (excepting  certain  tribes  of 
Moslem  Bulgarians  to  be  hereafter  mentioned),  as  Spahis. 
They  are  called  Pomaks ;  and  this  appellation,  which 
seems  to  signify  allies,  indicates  their  origin.  They  are 
the  descendants  of  Christian  soldiers  in  the  service  of  the 
Porte,  who,  to  save  themselves  from  being  degraded  into 
unarmed  rayahs^  abandoned  their  faith.     Mr.  Urquhart 


THE  MODERN  BULGARIANS,  443 

speaks  of  two  powerful  tribes  of  Moslem  Bulgarians ;  one 
the  Tulemans  of  Macedonia,  found  in  the  mountains  of 
Rhodope  (Despoto  Dagh)  above  Kavalla ;  the  other,  the 
Pomaks  north  of  the  Balkans.  In  the  latter  he  seems  to 
include  the  Spahis  of  Northern  Bulgaria,  already  men- 
tioned. These  tribes  seem  to  have  served  long  in  the 
Turkish  armies  as  Christian  allies,  and  finally  to  have  gone 
over  to  Islam  in  a  body.  They  are  spoken  of  as  being 
physically  a  very  fine  set  of  men,  brave  soldiers,  excel- 
lent horsemen,  and  able  to  furnish  from  their  own  num- 
bers an  army  of  forty  or  fifty  thousand  men.  But  they 
retain  their  own  language  and  industry,  are  very  jealous 
of  the  Turks,  have  long  been  disinclined  to  engage  in  the 
Turkish  military  service,  and  will  tolerate  no  armed  force 
but  their  own  within  their  territory.^ 

If  by  the  term  Bulgaria  we  mean  the  territory  actu- 
ally occupiea  oy  the  Bulgarian  people,  we  can  by  no 
means  restrict  the  southern  boundary  to  the  chain  of 
the  Balkans.  The  districts  to  the  south  of  these  moun- 
tains are  as  truly  Bulgarian  as  those  to  the  north.  Leav- 
ing out  the  Thracian  penuisula,  or  the  district  east  of  a 
line  drawn  from  Burgas  on  the  Black  Sea  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Maritza,  and  a  narrow  strip  of  seacoast,^  the  Bul- 
garian districts  embrace  all  the  rest  of  Eastern  Turkey 
in  Europe,  almost  to  the  borders  of  Thessaly.  Macken- 
zie and  Irby  observe  that  the  old  Roman  Via  Egnatia, 
running  from  Salonika  to  Achrida,  may  be  roughly 
taken  as  the  southern  Bulgarian  boundary.^ 

^  Turkey  and  its  Resources,;  40-43.    See  also  Mackenzie  and  Irby,  p.  24. 
*  The  district  thus  excluded  may  be  called  Greek,  but  is  inhabited  by  a 
Tcry  mixed  population.  *  Slavonic  Provinces,  p.  19. 


444  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS, 

This  extensive  region  is  divided  by  the  Balkans  and 
the  mountains  of  Rhodope  into  three  distinct  sections. 
The  people  of  Bulgaria  proper,  the  great  province  north 
of  the  Balkans,  have  preserved  most  perfectly  their 
national  character  and  manners.  The  inhabitants  of  the 
central  district,  the  chief  town  of  which  is  Philibeh,  (Phil- 
ippopolis),^  are  thoroughly  Bulgarian  in  feehng;  but 
their  national  character  had  been  somewhat  modified  by 
Greek  influences.  This  district  also  has  felt,  somewhat 
more  than  the  others,  the  quickening  and  elevating  in- 
fluences of  civilization.  To  this  district,  with  ttie  neigh- 
boring regions  of  Macedonia,  the  missionary  operations 
of  the  American  Board  in  behalf  of  the  Bulgarians  have 
been  mainly  confined.  The  district  south  of  Rhodope 
has  Seres  for  its  capital.  The  Bulgarians  of  this  pro- 
vince are  subject  to  a  powerful  Greek  influence,  and  have 
been  less  able  to  resist  the  tyranny  of  Greek  ecclesiastics. 
They  accordingly  appear  very  dull  and  listless,  and  have 
been  far  more  willing  than  their  brethren  further  north 
to  listen  to  the  overtures  of  the  Papists.  Bulgaria  pro- 
per, again,  has  a  three-fold  division — the  country  of  the 
Nogai  Tartars  upon  the  Black  Sea,  with  its  capital  at 
Varna ;  the  valley  of  the  Danube,  of  which  Widdin  is 
the  capital ;  and  upper  or  southern  Bulgaria,  of  which 
Sophia  is  the  most  iniportant  place,  as  it  is  also  the  an- 
cient sacred  city  of  the  whole  Bulgarian  race.  The 
whole  country  of  the  Bulgarians  is  sometimes  spoken 

^  Now  formed  into  the  Province  of  Eastern  Roumelia.  The  Paulicians, 
who  held  Philippopolis  eight  hundred  years  ago,  and  for  a  long  period  later, 
seem  now  to  have  disappeared.  A  hundred  years  ago  a  feeble  remnant  of 
them  were  still  in  exi^tenc^ 


THE  MODERN  BULGARIANS,  445 

of  as  the  Five  Provinces,  centering  respectively  at  Wid- 
din,  Varna,  Sophia,  Philibeh,  and  Seres.  ^ 

As  a  people,  the  Bulgarians  are  no  less  interesting 
and  no  less  promising  than  their  Slavonian  kindred  of 
the  tribes  further  west ;  yet  in  some  respects  they  are 
strangely  unlike  them.  To  the  traveler  who  knew 
the  Bulgarian  race  only  in  the  story  of  their  warlike 
ancestors  of  a  thousand  years  ago,  their  present  con- 
dition and  character  would  be  an  occasion  of  the  pro- 
foundest  surprise.  The  contrast  between  the  primitive 
and  the  modern  Bulgarians  is  indeed  most  remarka- 
ble. The  former  were  among  the  fiercest  and  most 
terrible  of  all  the  tribes  which  successively  devastated 
the  Empire  of  Constantinople;  the  latter  are  by  far 
the  most  peaceful,  quiet,  and  almost  immovably  pa- 
tient of  all  the  subjects  of  the  Turkish  government. 
This  is  to  be  accounted  for  in  pArt  by  the  thorough- 
ness of  their  subjugation ;  but  it  has  in  part,  also,  an 
ethnical  explanation.  In  the  course  of  ages  the  bold 
and  warlike  Bulgarians  have  become  entirely  merged 
and  lost  in  the  mass  of  their  less  spirited  Slavonian 
subjects;  the  Bulgarians  are  now  very  much  as  their 
quiet,  plodding  Slavonian  ancestors  of  the  same  regions 
were  in  the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries,  before  the  Bulga- 
rian invasion. 

The  chief  characteristic  of  the  Bulgarian  is  a  patient, 
frugal,  plodding  industry,  which  nothing  can  weary  or 
discourage.  *'  Unlike  the  Serb,  the  Bulgarian  does  not 
keep  his  self-respect  alive  with  memories  of  national  glory, 

*  Servia  and  the  Slave  Provinces  of  Turkey,  p.  457. 


446  TURKISH  SLAVONIANS, 

nor  even  with  aspirations  of  glory  to  come  ;  on  the  other 
hand,  no  amount  of  oppression  can  render  him  indifferent 
to  his  field,  his  horse,  his  flower-garden,  nor  to  the  scru- 
pulous neatness  of  his  dwelling ;  "  he  is  ''  agricultural, 
stubborn,  and  slow-tongued,  but  honest,  cleanly,  and 
chaste."  ^  The  following  account  of  the  Bulgarians,  their 
peculiarities,  and  their  manner  of  life,  from  the  pen  of 
Cyprien  Robert,  may  be  received  with  entire  confidence, 
as  it  is  fully  corroborated  by  the  communications  of  our 
own  missionaries.^ 

"In  spite  of  its  numerous  mountains,  and  the  snows 
that  lie  upon  them  in  winter,  Bulgaria  is  one  of  the  most 
fertile  countries  in  Europe.  The  mountains  are  clothed 
with  humus  up  to  their  summits.  Between  their  vertical 
and  cloud-capped  peaks  lie  meadows,  the  path  to  which 
lies  through  forests  of  cherry,  plum,  and  walnut  trees 
of  majestic  foliage,  and  filbert  trees  as  large  as  oaks. 
.  .  .  Struck  only  by  the  agricultural  activity  of  the 
Bulgarian,  and  forgetting  the  extortions  under  which  he 
groans,  some  English  tourists  have  represented  that  part 
of  the  Empire  as  an  earthly  paradise,  flowing  with  milk 
and  honey.  The  reality  is  very  different.  Nothing  is 
more  like  a  group  of  savages'  huts  than  a  celo,  or  Bulga- 
rian village.  Always  remote  from  the  high  road,  or  from 
the  waste  space  to  which  that  name  is  given,  and  conse- 
quently invisible  to  most  travelers,  the  celo  usually  stands 
in  a  meadow  along  the  border  of  a  stream,  which  serves 
it  for  a  ditch  and  natural  defence. 

^  Mackenzie  and  Irby,  p.  23. 

*  See  especially  an  able  paper  by  Dr.  H.  G.  O.  Dwight,  of  Constantino 
pie,  in  the  Missionary  Herald  for  October,  1858. 


THE  MODERN  BULGARIANS,  447 

"These  villages  are  very  numerous,  succeeding  each 
other  almost  from  league  to  league.  Each  consists  of 
four  or  five  courts,  or  groups  of  houses,  separated  from 
each  other  by  grass-grown  spaces.  The  courts,  sur- 
rounded by  a  thick  hedge,  are  like  so  many  islands  in  a 
sea  of  verdure.  The  huts  composing  one  of  them  are  al- 
most always  ten  or  twelve  in  number,  and  are  either 
formed  of  wattles,  so  as  to  resemble  great  baskets,  or  are 
sunk  in  the  ground,  and  covered  with  a  conical  roof  of 
thatch,  or  of  branches  of  trees.  Each  species  of  creature 
has  its  own  separate  abode  in  this  ark  of  the  wilderness; 
there  are  huts  for  the  poultry,  for  the  sheep,  for  the  pigs, 
for  the  oxen,  and  for  the  horses ;  and  in  the  midst  the 
proprietor  occupies  a  cabin  which  serves  him  for  cellar, 
granary,  kitchen,  and  bedroom.  Little  more  than  the 
roof  of  these  dark  dwellings  rises  above  the  ground.  You 
descend  into  them  by  a  short  flight  of  steps,  and  the 
doors  are  so  low  that  you  must  stoop  as  you  enter  them. 
Nevertheless,  these  poor  huts  are  as  clean,  and  as  neatly 
arranged  inside,  as  they  can  be  made  by  the  indefatigable 
baba  (Bulgarian  housewife),  to  whom  employment  is 
so  necessary  that  she  plies  her  spindle  even  while  cook- 
ing or  carrying  her  goods  to  market.  The  melancholy 
stork  usually  perches  upon  these  conical  huts,  as  upon 
the  chimney  of  the  Polish  peasant,  standing  on  his  long 
shanks  and  brooding  over  his  big  nest  for  whole  days, 
without  giving  token  of  his  existence  by  the  least  move- 
ment or  the  least  cry. 

"  Formidable  as  were  the  Bulgarians  in  early  mediaeval 
times,  when  the  ambitious  Tartar  race  occupied  the 
national  throne,  they  are  now,  perhaps,  the  least  lux- 


•20 


448  TURKISH  SLAVONIANS, 

urious  and  the  most  pacific  people  in  Europe.  All  who 
know  the  Bulgarian  are  unanimous  in  praise  of  his  peace- 
ful virtues,  his  good-natured  readiness  to  oblige,  his  assi- 
duity in  labor,  and  his  extreme  frugality.  He  never  acts 
without  deliberation,  but,  once  his  mind  is  made  up,  he 
displays  in  all  his  enterprises  a  prodigious  perseverance, 
which,  seconded  by  his  athletic  strength,  makes  him 
encounter  the  greatest  dangers  coolly  and  without  boast- 
ing. Though  he  is  the  most  oppressed  of  the  five  peo- 
ples of  the  peninsula,  penury  has  not  made  him  vile. 
Still,  as  of  yore,  his  bearing  is  manly,  his  figure  tall  and 
commanding,  his  honor  invincible.  You  may  safely  in- 
trust to  him  any  sum  of  money  without  witnesses ;  he 
will  carry  it  safely  to  its  destination.  He  is  accused  of 
trembling  before  the  Turk ;  he  does  not  tremble,  but  when 
all  resistance  is  impossible,  he  submits  in  silence  like  any 
reasonable  man. 

''The  Bulgarian  women  are  gentle,  compassionate,  and 
laborious.  The  motherly  and  sisterly  care  they  bestow 
on  the  stranger  guest  in  their  cabins  is  really  affecting. 
Their  demeanor  towards  him  is  marked  by  the  perfect 
confidence  of  innocence  ;  for  their  virtue  has  no  need  of 
the  precautions  which  'are  elsewhere  necessary.^  .  .  , 
They  are,  next  to  the  Greeks,  the  handsomest  women  in 
European  Turkey,  and  are  especially  remarkable  for  the 
length  and  luxuriance  of  their  hair,  with  which  they 
could  literally  cover  themselves  as  with  a  garment;    it 

^  Their  chastity  "has  from  early  times  attracted  respect  towards  the 
South  Slavonic  peoples.  Their  ancient  laws  visit  social  immorality  with 
death,  and  at  present,  their  opinion,  inexorable  towards  women,  does  not, 
like  our  own,  show  clemency  to  men." — Mackenzie  and  Irby,  p.  24. 


THE  MODERN  BULGARIANS.  449 

often  sweeps  the  ground  below  their  feet.  The  >'oung 
girls  let  their  tresses  flow  loosely,  and  their  only  head- 
dress is  a  wreath  of  flowers  or  a  single  rose.  Those  whose 
charms  are  on  the  wane  adorn  themselves  with  necklaces 
and  bracelets  of  glass  beads,  a  girdle  of  copper  gilt,  or  an 
ugly  head-piece  in  the  form  of  a  helmet,  festooned  with 
strings  of  (coins). ^     .     .     . 

*'  The  Bulgarian  retains  many  traits  of  his  Tartar  ori- 
gin, such  as  the  shaven  head,  with  one  thick  tuft  on  the 
crown,  which  he  divides  into' two  tresses.  Like,  the  son 
of  the  steppes,  he  is  inseparable  from  his  horse.  In  the 
country  parts  every  Bulgarian,  the  poorest  not  excepted, 
is  mounted,  and  never  goes  even  a  few  hundred  yards 
from  his  cabin  except  on  horseback.  .  .  .  His  cos- 
tume is  the  same  as  that  of  his  ancestors  on  the  cold 
plateaus  of  Northern  Asia.  His  short  capote,  with  or 
without  sleeves,  the  thick  bands  with  which  he  swathes 
his  legs,  his  trowsers,  his  tunic,  his  broad  belt,  are  all 
woolen. 

"The  frugality  of  this  people  is  inconceivable,  and 
they  enjoy  a  singular  vigor  of  temperament.  A  Bulga- 
rian on  a  journey  will  live  for  three  weeks  on  the  stock 
of  bread  and  the  bottle  of  raki  he  has  taken  with  him,  and 
he  will  carry  home  the  whole  of  his  earnings  without  ex- 
pending a  single  para.  On  his  caravan  expeditions  he 
sometimes  indulges  the  spirit  of  luxury  so  far  as  to  add 
to  his  provisions  some  pieces  of  meat  dried  slowly  in  the 

^  These  head-dresses  of  coins  are  a  peculiar  and  almost  universal  feature 
of  female  attire  in  all  Turkey,  from  Montenegro  to  the  Persian  frontier. 
They  descend  as  heirlooms  from  mother  to  daughter,  and  are  often  of  great 
value,  containing  coins,  perhaps  of  silver  or  gold,  as  old  or  older  than  Con- 
stantinople itself. 


450  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS. 

sun.  ...  At  home,  the  usual  diet  of  the  Bulgarian 
as  of  the  Greek,  consists  of  dairy  produce,  pulse,  olives^ 
and  maize  bread.  His  ordinary  drink  is  water,  with  which 
he  cures  all  his  diseases ;  wine  he  reserves  for  holidays. 
Such  is  his  indifference  to  all  the  comforts  of  life,  that  he 
does  not  even  think  of  protecting  himself  in  winter  from 
the  intense  cold,  or  in  summer  from  the  overpowering 
heat.  Families  are  to  be  seen  sleeping  outside  their  cab- 
ins, exposed  to  the  cold  winds  of  the  autumn  mornings, 
on  the  carpets  which  served  them  for  beds  among  the 
flowers  of  May. 

"  The  simplicity  of  the  Bulgarian's  habits  exempts  him 
from  many  of  the  maladies  to  which  the  dominant  caste 
are  victims.  The  plague  spares  the  Bulgarian  Christians, 
who  take  precautions  against  it,  while  it  carries  off  the 
Mussulman  fatalists.  Every  great  blague  takes  from 
Turkey  nearly  a  milHon  of  inhabitants.  That  of  1838 
was  fatal  in  Bulgaria  alone  to  eighty-six  thousand  per- 
sons, nearly  all  Turks.  .  .  .  The  rural  Bulgarians, 
like  the  Hebrews  during  the  seven  plagues  of  Egypt,  en 
joyed  uninterrupted  good  health  throughout  that  fatal 
period.  ...  To  mark  the  simplicity  of  these  peo- 
ple, I  will  only  mention  one  fact.  During  the  first 
months  of  my  sojourn  among  them,  my  answer  to  their 
constant  question  whence  I  came,  was,  *  From  Frankistan 
(Europe).'  'You  are  happy,  brother,'  they  exclaimed, 
'there  are  none  but  Bulgarians  in  your  country.'  '  Bul- 
garians !  I  never  saw  a  single  one  there.'  'What!  no 
Bulgarians  in  the  country  of  the  Franks?  And  what 
are  you ;  are  you  not  a  Bulgarian  ? '  '  Not  at  all.' 
When  I  said  this  they  hung  their  heads  sadly,  and  ut- 


THE  MODERN  BULGARIANS.  451 

tered  rot  a  v/ord.  It  was  not  until  after  many  repetitions 
of  this  dialogue  I  became  aware  that  to  their  minds  the 
name  of  Bulgarian  is  significant  of  all  the  Christian  nations 
in  contradistinction  to  those  of  Islam."  ^ 

In  the  lowest  and  least  intelligent  class  of  the  Bulga- 
rian peasantry,  the  national  sobriety  and  patience  sinks 
to  an  almost  ox-like  heaviness  and  stolidity.  To  this 
class  belong  most  of  the  Bulgarian  laborers,  so  numerous 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Constantinople,  on  both  sides  of 
the  Bosphorus  and  the  Dardanelles,  employed  as  farm 
hands,  gardeners,  and  shepherds.  The  Bulgarians  have 
always  shown  a  great  disposition  to  emigrate,  and  colo- 
nies of  them  are  found  widely  scattered  in  various  parts 
of  European  Turkey.  But  wherever  they  are,  they  still 
preserve  their  language  and  national  peculiarities,  and 
refuse  to  mix  or  coalesce  with  their  neighbors. 

As  already  stated,  Bulgaria,  from  its  first  conquest  by 
the  Turks,  has  remained  in  a  state  of  complete  subjuga- 
tion. « The  country  was  parceled  out  into  spahiUcs,  and 
the  Spahis,  living  like  a  local  nobility  uf>on  their  revenues, 
had  their  residences  upon  their  estates,  being  bound  in 
return  to  obey  every  summons  of  the  Sultan  to  the  field. 
The  Bulgarians  were  thus  helplessly  at  the  mercy  of 
their  Turkish  masters,  and  have  been  from  the  first  sub- 
jected to  great  oppression  and  extortion.  Their  beauti- 
ful daughters  were  seized  and  carried  off,  their  religious 
services  were  broken  in  upon,  their  churches  were  dese- 
crated, and,  amid  all  the  exuberant  fruitfulness  of  the 
soil,  the  endless  exactions  of  the  Spahis  and  government 

*  Servia  and  the  Slave  Proyinces  of  Turkey,  pp.  458-62. 


452  TURKISH  SLAVONIANS, 

officials  left  but  a  scanty  pittance  for  the  support  of  theil 
families. 

Of  the  disorders  attending  the  reforming  projects  of 
Sultan  Selim  and  the  rebellion  of  the  janizaries,  Bulgaria 
proper  had  more  than  its  full  share.  In  1792,  Pasvan 
Oglu  established  himself  at  Widdin,  the  capital  of  the 
province,  of  which  he  was  afterwards  acknowledged  Pasha 
and  Vizier.  The  career  of  this  great  outlaw,  rebel,  free 
booter,  and  champion  of  the  janizaries,  has  been  already 
alluded  to.^  •  Bulgaria  ^as  at  his  feet,  and  was  filled  by 
his  mercenary  plundering  soldiery  with  violence  and 
blood.  Sultan  Selim  was  helpless  before  him,  and  but  for 
his  opportune  death  in  1800  might  have  been  driven  by 
him  from  his  throne.^  At  the  same  time  bands  of  Bul- 
garian heyducs  swarmed  through  all  the  mountainous  dis- 
tricts of  the  interior,  and  tyrannized  over  the  whole  region 
of  central  Bulgaria  from  Sophia  to  Adrianople.  Between 
these  two  sets  of  plunderers  the  unhappy  people  were 
reduced  to  the  greatest  distress.^  These  heyducs*  how- 
ever, were  not  mere  bandits.  Like  the  Greek  Klephts, 
they  represented  the  national  sentiment  of  resistance  to 
Turkish  oppression ;  and  when  the  Greek  Revolution 
broke  out,  they  repaired  in  great  numbers  to  the  camps 
of  the  insurgents. 

All  these  early  troubles,  however,  moved  this  patient, 
much-enduring  people  only  to  some  partial,  ill-concerted, 
and  fruitless  movements.  It  was  not  until  1838  that  the 
national  spirit  became  so  roused  as  to  explode  in  a  for- 
midable insurrection.     But  even  then  the  Bulgarians  had 

*  See  above,  chap.  v.  ^  Upham,  i.  30S-13. 

•  Servia  and  the  Slave  Provinces,  p.  488. 


THE  MODERN  BULGARIANS.  45| 

neither .  arms,  nor  skill,  nor  able  leaders,  nor  trustworthy 
allies.  The  rebellion  was  easily  suppressed  and  merci- 
lessly punished.  After  this  "  order  reigned  "  in  Bulgaria 
until  the  great  revolutionary  movements  of  1 848.  These 
movements,  aided  by  Russian  intrigue,  excited  the  popu- 
lar mind  in  this  province  hardly  less  than  in  Bosnia, 
and  the  Bulgarians  once  more  rose.  This  insurrection 
was  no  more  successful  than  the  former  had  been.  It 
had  been  crushed,  and  the  vengeful  Spahis  and  merce- 
naries (bashi  bazouks)  were  already  visiting  the  helpless 
villages  with  lust,  rapine,  and  slaughter,  when  the  terri- 
ble Omer  Pasha,  leaving  his  work  of  conquest  and  paci- 
fication in  Bosnia  but  half  accomplished,  **  fell  among 
them  like  a  thunderbolt,  and  all  was  silence.  The  Bul- 
garian ceased  to  flee,  the  Spahis  to  pursue;  and  what 
was  more,  the  Russian  army  of  Wallachia  halted  at  the 
moment  it  was  about  to  cross  the  Danube."  ^ 

Omer  Pasha  pursued  the  same  policy  in  Bulgaria 
which  he  had  already  inaugurated  in  Bosnia.  A  general 
amnesty  was  proclaimed,  the  complaints  of  the  Christians 
were  listened  to,  and  their  most  oppressive  wrongs  were 
redressed.  After  this  pacification  of  the  province,  the 
condition  of  the  Bulgarians  was  a  little  more  tolerable  ;  so 
little,  however,  that  in  any  other  land  it  would  still  have 
been  considered  unendurable.  "  Meanwhile  a  variety  of 
evils  pressed  on  Bulgaria — outbreaks  of  heyducs,  some 
political  outlaws,  some  highwaymen  ;  influx  of  Moham- 
medan Tartars  from  the  Crimea,  for  whom  the  Bulgarians 
were  forced  to  build  houses  and  provide  food ;  emigra- 
tion of  Bulgarians  to  Russia,  succeeded  by  their  destitute 
*  Servia  and  the  Slave  Provinces,  p.  385. 


454  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS. 

return ;  attempt  of  other  Bulgarians  to  get  off  to  Servia, 
frustrated  by  the  Turkish  authorities  ;  finally,  a  shoal  of 
bashi  bazouks  turned  loose  among  the  villagers,  on  pre- 
text of  guarding  the  frontier  from  the  Serbs.  In  the  sum- 
mer of  1862  we  were  witnesses  to  this  state  of  things."^ 

The  one  great  purpose,  which,  since  the  quickening  of 
their  national  life,  has  inspired  the  thoughts  and  the  efforts 
of  the  Bulgarians,  has  been  emancipation  from  their  long 
bondage  to  Greek  ecclesiastics.  Before  the  Turkish  con- 
quest the  Bulgarians  had  their  own  national  church,  at 
the  head  of  which  was  a  Patriarch,  who,  although  re- 
ceiving consecration  from  the  Patriarch  of  Constantinople, 
was  in  other  respects  independent.  The  Turks  permitted 
this  order  of  things  to  exist  until  1764.  It  was  then 
brought  to  an  end,  and  the  Bulgarians  were  subjected  to 
that  helpless  tool  of  the  Porte,  the  Greek  Patriarch  of 
Constantinople.  The  result  was  most  disastrous.  The 
national  language  was  excluded  from  everything  per- 
taining to  the  Church.  The  Bible  and  all  religious  books 
were  printed,  the  Church  service  was  performed,  in  Greek. 
All  ecclesiastical  posts,  above  the  simple  priesthood,  were 
given  to  Greek  extortioners,  who,  not  knowing  even  the 
language  of  the  people,  and  holding  their  places  solely 
as  a  means  of  gain,  thought  only  of  squeezing  the  last 
pai'a  from  their  unhappy  flocks. 

The  patient  Bulgarians  endured  this  tyranny  as  no 
other  Christian  people  in  Turkey  would  have  borne  it, 
yet  to  escape  from  it  they  were  engaged  for  many  years 
in  a  constant  struggle.  This  long,  weary,  but  at  last 
successful  struggle  was  of  a  singular  and  peculiarly  Bul- 

*  Mackenzie  and  Irby,  p.  34. 


THE  MODERN  BULGARIAITS.  455 

garian  character.  There  was  no  violence,  no  outburst 
of  popular  fury.  It  was  the  passive,  but  most  stubborn 
display  of  the  steadfast  determination  of  the  Bulgarian 
people  that  they  would  not  longer  submit  to  Greek  eccle- 
siastics. "  Churches  were  closed  in  order  that  the  Greek 
liturgy  might  not  be  read  therein.  When  the  Greek 
bishops  returned  from  their  revenue  gathering  progresses, 
they  found  their  palaces  locked,  and  were  conducted  be- 
yond the  city  walls.  If  they  entered  a  church  to  officiate, 
no  Bulgarian  priest  would  take  part  in  the  service; 
when  they  departed,  the  floor  was  ostentatiously  swept, 
as  if  to  remove  traces  of  impurity.  In  Sophia,  when  a 
new  bishop  was  expected,  men,  women  and  children 
filled  the  palace  and  blocked  it  up,  till,  unarmed  as  they 
were,  they  had  to  be  expelled  by  Turkish  soldiers.  The 
bishop  then  dwelt  in  isolation,  until,  on  occasion  of  a 
burial,  he  got  hold  of  a  Bulgarian  priest,  and  demanded 
why  he  did  not  come  to  see  him.  The  priest  answered 
that  he  must  stand  by  his  flock ;  that  as  it  would  not 
acknowledge  the  bishop,  neither  could  he.  Thereupon 
the  priest's  beard  was  shorn,  the  fez  of  the  dead  man  was 
stuck  on  his  head,  and  he  was  turned  out  into  the  streets 
as  a  warning  and  a  sign.  Again  the  unarmed  citizens 
rose,  shops  were  shut,  houses  evacuated,  and  thousands 
of  people  prepared  to  leave  Sophia.  Their  elders  waited 
on  the  Pasha  and  said,  *  Either  the  Greek  bishop  must 
go,  or  we'  The  Pasha  advised  the  prelate  to  withdraw, 
and  as  the  authorities  in  Constantinople  would  not  per- 
mit the  people  to  .elect  a  new  one,  Sophia  resolved  to 
do  without  a  bishop  at  all."  ^ 

^  Mackenzie  and  Irby,  p.  33. 


4S«>  TURKISH  SLAVONIANS, 

Unwilling  to  relinquish  so  potent  an  instrumentality  of 
political  power,  the  Turkish  authorities  long  temporized 
and  evaded,  making  many  fair  promises,  but  in  reality 
conceding  little  or  nothing.  But  the  stubborn  purpose 
of  the  Bulgarians,  strongly  supported  by  Russian  influ- 
ences, at  last  won  the  day.  In  1870  a  firman  was  issued 
decreeing  the  essential  independence  of  the  Bulgarian 
Church,  under  an  Exarch  of  its  own  choice.  In  Feb- 
ruary, 1872,  this  great  reform  was  carried  into  effect, 
and  Anthimios,  Metropolitan  of  Widdin,  was  chosen 
the  first  Bulgarian  Exarch.  In  October  of  the  same 
year,  the  entire  Exarchate  was  excommunicated  by  the 
Greek  Synod  of  Constantinople. 

It  is  now  a  little  more  than  twenty  years  since  the 
Bulgarians  began  to  attract  the  attention  and  excite  the 
profoundest  interest  of  our  American  churches.  The 
nation  was  then  just  awakening  from  its  long  sleep,  and 
beginning  to  cry  earnestly  for  Hght  and  help.  The  peo- 
ple were  everywhere  establishing  schools,  and  the  Bible, 
as  well  as  other  books,  both  religious  and  secular,  was 
eagerly  received.  The  field  seemed  one  of  richest  pro- 
mise ;  and  our  brethren  at  Constantinople  believed,  not 
without  reason,  that  if  it  could  be  at  once  and  effectually 
occupied,  results  would  be  speedily  achieved  surpassing 
those  which  had  followed  their  labors  among  the  Arme- 
nians. These  hopes  and  expectations,  it  is  true,  have  not 
been  fully  realized.  The  old  experience  among  the 
Greeks  has,  to  some  extent,  been  repeated  among  the 
Bulgarians.  For,  like  the  Greeks,  the  Bulgarians  have 
an  intense  feeling  of  nationality ;  and,  like  them  also, 
they  see  their  only  bond  of  national  unity  in  a  firm  ad- 


fUE  MODERN  BULGARIANS.  457 

here.ice  to  their  national  church.  For  this  reason,  our 
brethren  of  the  Bulgarian  mission  have  had  but  little 
success  in  gathering  the  people  into  their  congregations, 
and  but  few  conversions,  comparatively,  have  resulted 
from  their  labors.  These  labors,  however,  have  not  been 
in  vain.  Through  the  press,  the  circulation  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, their  efforts  in  the  cause  of  education,  and  other 
similar  agencies,  our  missionaries  have  been  able  to  exert 
a  powerful  influence,  which  is  slowly  leavening  the  whole 
national  mind.^ 

The  most  interesting  and  hopeful  feature  in  the  relig- 
ious character  of  the  simple-minded  Bulgarians  is  their 
reverence  and  love  for  the  Holy  Scriptures.  This  may 
be  owing  in  part  to  the  powerful  influence  exerted  upon 
them  In  early  days  by  the  Paullclans,  who  were  settled  In 
their  neighborhood  before  their  conversion  to  Christian- 
ity. The  first  efforts  of  our  missionaries  in  their  behalf 
was  to  send  colporters  among  them  with  the  New  Tes- 
tament, which  was  everywhere  eagerly  received.  So 
rich  and  hopeful  did  the  field  appear,  that  the  American 
Board  determined  at  once  to  occupy  it ;  yet  so  vast  was 
it,  and  so  urgent  in  its  demands,  that  the  Board  felt 
wholly  unable  to  provide  for  it  throughout  its  whole 
extent.  Deciding,  therefore,  to  limit  its  own  operations 
among  the  Bulgarians  to  the  regions  south  of  the  Balkans, 
the  Board  sought  aid  from  some  other  branch  of  the 
Church  in  evangelizing  Bulgaria  proper. 

'  This  fact  is  gratefully  recognized  even  by  the  Roman  Catholic  Bohe- 
mians, who  feel  a  deep  interest  in  the  welfare  of  their  Southern  kindred. 
See  Mackenzie  and  Irby,  Introduction,  p.  19.  See  also  an  interesting  and 
able  letter  from  Rev.  Dr.  Wood  of  Constantinople,  in  the  Missionary 
Herald  for  October,  1872,  p.  307. 

20 


4S8  TURKISH  SLA  VON  JANS, 

In  cordial  and  hearty  response  to  their  invitation,  the 

Missionary  Board  of  the  American  M.  E.  Church  deter- 
mined to  occupy  this  field,  and  to  this  end  in  1857  sent 
out  two  missionaries,  Messrs.  Long  ^  and  Prettyman, 
who  were  soon  afterwards  joined  by  a  third.  In  the 
prosecution  of  its  own  part  of  the  work,  the  American 
Board  sent  Mr.  Morse  to  Adrianople,  in  1858,  and,  the 
next  year,  Mr.  Meriam  to  Philippopolis  (Philibeh),  and 
Mr.  Byington  to  Eski  Zagra.  Since  that  time  the  mis- 
sionary work  among  the  Bulgarians  has  been  prosecuted 
steadily,  patiently,  in  the  face  of  great  opposition  and 
many  difficulties,,  but  with  an  ever-widening  influence, 
and  with  results  which  are  becoming  constantly  richer 
and  more  satisfying. 

In  1875  the  American  Board  had  three  stations  among 
the  Southern  Bulgarians,  located  at  Samokove,  Eski  Za- 
gra, and  Monastir,  in  Western  Macedonia.  In  connection 
with  the    station  at  Samokove,  there  was  a  theological 

^  Rev.  A.  L.  Long,  D.D.,  now  professor  in  Robert  College,  Constanti- 
nople. After  this  chapter  was  written,  by  the  kindness  of  the  Secretaries 
of  the  M.  E.  Board  of  Missions,  I  received  full  information  in  regard  to 
the  state  of  their  missionary  work  in  Bulgaria  proper.  In  1876,  the  Metho- 
dist Mission  in  Bulgaria  was  in  charge  of  Rev.  F.  W.  Flocken,  Superin- 
tendent, whose  station  was  at  Rustchuk  on  the  Danube.  Rev.  D.  W.  C. 
Challis  was  stationed  at  Sistova  on  the  Danube,  and  Rev.  E.  F.  Lounsbury 
at  Ternova  in  the  interior.  Native  circuit  preachers  were  stationed  at 
Loftcha,  Lom.  Palanka,  Plevna,  Orcharia,  Widdin,  and  Tultcha.  At  all,  or 
nearly  all  these  stations,  small  churches  and  Sunday-schools  had  been  gath- 
ered. Three  colporters  were  employed,  who,  in  1875,  disposed  by  sale  of 
425  Bibles  and  parts  of  the  Bible,  I,li6  religious  books,  and  3,702  tracts 
and  pamphlets.  There  were  three  schools,  and  six  young  men  in  training 
for  missionary  v^ork.  Though  here,  as  south  of  the  Balkans,  the  direct  re. 
suits  of  missionary  labor  appeared  small,  the  brethren  of  the  mission 
seemed  full  of  hope  and  courage,  confident  that  indirectly  their  work  wm 
yielding  abundant  fruits. 


THE  MODERN  BVLGARJAl^S,  ^ 

school,  with  eleven  students ;  an  important  female  board- 
ing school ;  three  ordained  missionaries,  with  their  wives ; 
two  unmarried  American  ladies,  employed  as  teachers; 
four  out-stations;  one  native  pastor,  and  five  licensed 
preachers.  Eski  Zagra  had  three  ordained  missionaries, 
with  their  wives ;  two  helpers ;  three  out-stations,  with 
two  organized  churches ;  two  native  pastors ;  two  licensed 
preachers,  and  one  teacher.  At  Monastir  were  two 
ordained  missionaries,  with  their  wives;  one  licensed 
preacher,  and  one  helper.  In  addition  to  the  work  at 
these  three  stations.  Rev.  Elias  Riggs,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  and 
Rev.  T.  L.  Byington,  were  engaged  at  Constantinople  in 
literary  labors  connected  with  the  mission. 

The  general  aspects  of  the  Bulgarian  field,  for  the  past 
twelve  years,  are  well  set  forth  in  the  following  extracts 
from  a  letter  to  the  author  of  this  volume,  by  Dr.  A.  L. 
Long,  while  in  this  country  ten  years  ago,  superintending 
the  electrotyping  of  the  Bulgarian  New  Testament : — 

"  The  progress  of  the  Bulgarian  people  during  the  last 
ten  years,  in  general  intelligence  and  public  spirit,  with 
all  their  disadvantages,  has  been,  in  my  opinion,  greater 
than  that  of  any  other  of  the  subjects  of  the  Sultan. 
Schools  have  been  multiplied,  both  male  and  female, 
until  almost  every  village  has  its  school.  Books,  news- 
papers, and  periodicals  have  been  published,  and  very 
many,  who  before  were  unwilling  to  be  known  as  Bulga- 
rians, now  seem  proud  of  their  nationality. 

*'  The  platform  of  the  Bulgarian  party  is  *  Bulgaria  for 
-the  Bulgarians;'  and  they  are  willing  to  bide  their  time 
for  the  consummation  of  their  hopes.  Their  sympathies 
and    affinities  with   Russia   are   stronger  than  with  the 


46o  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS, 

Greeks;  but  they  look  with  distrust  upon  Rui  sian  plans, 
knowing  that  their  distinct  nationality  would  soon  be 
absorbed  by  her  in  the  event  of  her  success.  A  Bulga- 
rian will  always,  however,  call  a  Russian  '  brother,'  much 
more  cordially  than  he  can  apply  that  term  to  a  Greek, 
who  has  been,  perhaps,  brought  up  in  the  same  town  with 
himself.  Their  controversy  with  the  Greeks  is  not  a  Rus- 
sian scheme,  as  some  English  diplomatists  have  supposed. 
Russia  has  never  been  willing  to  see  the  Bulgarians  suc- 
ceed in  establishing  an  independent  hierarchy,  lest  they 
should  depart  from  orthodoxy,  if  left  to  themselves.  The 
fear  also  of  being  reproached  with  heresy,  by  Russia 
and  other  Slavic  peoples,  has  had  a  powerful  influence  in 
keeping  the  Bulgarians  back  from  any  radical  reforms. 

"  Missionary  labor  among  them,  although  not  effecting 
what  was  expected,  has  not  been  fruitless.  My  own  ex- 
perience has  been,  I  believe,  pretty  much  that  of  the 
brethren  with  whom  it  has  been  my  privilege  so  harmo- 
niously to  co-operate.  There  is  an  increasing  respect 
paid  to  the  missionaries,  and  to  the  word  which  they 
preach  ;  and  there  is  a  greater  readiness  to  receive  evan- 
gelical literature.  An  influence  is  being  acquired  over 
the  rising  generation  which  cannot  fail  of  good  results. 
Even  if  the  Bulgarian  people  should  never  become  a  fully 
Protestant  people,  I  doubt  not  many  will  be  led  into  a 
higher  spiritual  life,  through  the  Scripture  truth  whicl" 
has  been  circulated,  and  is  being  circulated  among 
them." 

The  Moslem  population  of  Bulgaria  proper,  as  has  been 
the  case  in  every  other  part  of  European  Turkey,  has  for 
a  long  time  been  rapidly  diminishing.     The  decrease  in 


THE  MODERN  BULGARIANS,  461 

the  ten  years  previous  to  1864  was  estimated  by  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Neale,  English  Consul  in  Bulgaria,  at  one 
hundred  thousand.*  Since  1864  it  is  probable  that  the 
rate  of  diminution  has  increased.  The  Moslems  have 
been  poorer  than  the  Christians,  but  for  this  reason  only 
the  more  inclined  to  insult  and  plunder  them,  in  revenge 
for  their  own  decaying  fortunes.  Never  before,  since 
the  pacification  of  the  country  by  Omer  Pasha  in  1848, 
did  the  Bulgarians  suffer  such  fearful  wroAgs  and  out- 
rages as  during  the  year  previous  to  the  breaking  out  of 
the  recent  war. 

The  Bulgarians  are  as  intensely  democratic  as  the  Ser- 
vians or  the  Greeks,  and  this  fact  of  itself  is  an  insuper- 
able barrier  to  any  willing  union  between  them  and  the 
Russians.  On  the  other  hand,  they  have  a  strong  fellow- 
feeling  towards  the  Servians,  and  have  long  been  looking 
to  them  for  help  which,  hitherto,  they  have  not  been 
able  to  afford.  What  course  the  Bulgarians  would  take, 
if  left  free  to  choose  for  themselves,  was  unmistakably  in- 
dicated when,  in  the  time  of  the  Crimean  war,  they  in- 
vited Michael  Obrenovitch,  afterwards  Prince  of  Servia, 
to  become  their  sovereign. 

The  Bulgarian  and  Servian  languages  are  but  dialects 
of  the  same  Slavonic  speech,  so  nearly  similar  that  the 
people  of  the  two  provinces  find  little  difficulty  in  un- 
derstanding each  other.  The  words  and  forms'  of  the 
old  Slavonian  afford  a  medium  through  which  the  same 
books  and  papers  can  be  circulated  among  both  peoples. 
The  Servian  language  is  the  purest  Slavonian,  the  Bulga- 
rian having  more  the  character  of  a  patois^  with  a  harsh 
*  ^lackenzie  and  Irby,  p.  24,  note. 


462  TURKISH  SLA  VONIANS. 

and  rude  pronunciation,  and  a  large  admixture  of  foreign 
words.  The  present  tendency  is  strongly  to  draw  the 
two  peoples  together,  in  language  as  in  political  ideas 
and  aspirations.  The  Bulgarians  are  as  poetical  and 
song-loving  as  the  other  Slavonic  peoples.  Their  lan- 
guage is  very  rich  in  ballads  and  historic  poems,  which, 
contrary  to  what  might  have  been  expected,  differ  very 
little  from  those  of  the  Servians.^ 

That  a  great  crisis  in  the  fortunes  of  the  Bulgarians,  as 
of  all  the  Slavonic  peoples  of  European  Turkey,  is  now 
near  at  hand,  is  very  clear.  May  He  who  rules  supreme 
in  earth  as  in  heaven,  give  them  guidance  to  a  happy 
issue.  Well  certainly  may  we,  American  Christians,  pray 
and  hope  that  the  result  of  this  struggle  may  be  to  break 
the  yoke  of  the  Turk  forever  from  the  necks  of  those 
long  oppressed  followers  of  the  Cross,  and  to  unite  these 
kindred  peoples  in  one  free,  prosperous,  powerful,  and 
Christian  state. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


THE      WALLACHIANS.i 

THE   DACO-ROUMANIAN  PEOPLE — WALLACHIA — MOL. 
DAVIA — ROUMANIA — THE   ROUMANIAN  JEWS. 

The  Wallachian  or  Roumanian  people  are  by  no 
means  confined  to  the  territory  now  comprised  in  the 
Principality  of  Roumania.  Five  hundred  years  ago 
they  were  very  numerous  throughout  the  whole  region 
extending  from  the  Carpathian  range  north  of  Transyl- 
vania to  the  southern  borders  of  Thessaly.  The  south- 
western districts  of  Thessaly  were  long  known  as  Great 
Wallachia,  and  governed  by  a  semi-independent  Walla- 
chian Prince;  the   so-called  Third  Bulgarian  Kingdom, 

*  Gibbon's  Decline  and  Fall. 

The  Greek  Histories  of  Finlay  and  Teiment. 

Travels  of  Macarius,  Patriarch  of  Antioch,  in  the  years  1654,  1658,  and 
1659. 

Walsh's  Narrative  of  a  Journey  from  Constantinople  to  England.  Phil 
adelphia,  1828. 

Roumania,  the  Border  Land  of  the  Christian  and  the  Turk.  By  James 
O.  Noyes,  M.D.     New  York,  1857. 

Boner's  Transylvania,  Edinburgh  Review  for  January,  1866. 

Writings  of  Viscount  Strangford.     2  vols.     London,  1869. 

War  Correspondence  of  the  London  Daily  News.  2  vols.  London, 
1S78. 


464  THE  WALLACHIANS, 

founded  at  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century  by  the  three 
brothers,  Peter,  Asan,  and  John,  was  more  properly  a 
Wallachian  Kingdom ;  while  the  Wallachs  formed  then, 
as  they  do  still,  a  large  and  important  element  of  the 
population  in  the  province  of  Transylvania  and  the 
whole  region  of  the  Carpathian  Mountains.^  After  re- 
maining for  a  long  period  too  poor  and  depressed  to 
attract  attention,  in  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries 
the  Wallachs  began  to  increase  rapidly  in  numbers,  in 
wealth,  and  in  political  importance.  In  the  confusion 
attending  the  last  years  of  the  Greek  Empire,  and  the 
rise  of  the  Turkish  power,  they  again  so  greatly  declined^ 
that  for  four  hundred  years,  beyond  the  limits  of  the 
semi-independent  principalities  of  Wallachia  and  Molda- 
via, they  were  almost  unknown  to  the  world.  In  dimin- 
ished numbers,  however,  they  have  always  existed,  and 
still  exist,  still  speaking  the  same  language,  remaining 
essentially  the  same  people,  in  many  of  the  districts  in 
which  their  fathers  were  so  powerful  in  the  days  of  the 
Crusades. 

In  Transylvania  the  Wallachs  form  a  majority  of  the 
entire  population,  numbering  1,227,000,  against  536,000 
Hungarians,  192,000  Germans,  78,000  Gypsies,  and 
iS,000jews.^  The  Hungarians  (Magyars  and  Szeklers) 
are  the  landholding  gentry ;  the  Germans,  whose  fathers 
(invited  into  the  country  by  the  Magyar  Kings  in  the 
twelfth  century)  grew  rich  and  powerful  in  the  days  of 
the  old  overland  trade  with  the  East,  are  yeomen  in  the 

'  For  the  early  History  of  the  Wallachians,  see  Finlay's  Byzantine  Em- 
pire, ii.  276-282. 

*  Id.,  ii.,  600.  *  Boneij  Edinburgh  Review,  January,  1866,  p.  68. 


THE  WALLACHIANS.  4^5 

country  and  burghers  of  "  the  seven  cities ; "  the  Wal- 
lachs,  everywhere  rude  and  very  poor,  are  shepherds 
among  the  mountains,  a  depressed  peasantry  upon  the 
plains.  The  old  Roumanian  population  of  Great  Walla- 
chia  has  still  its  numerous  representatives  in  the  moun- 
tains of  Pindus.  Colonel  Leake  found  about  five  hundred 
Wallach  villages  in  the  mountains  of  Thessaly,  Epirus, 
and  Macedonia,  some  of  them  small^  others  large  and 
prosperous.  The  people  of  these  villages  were  diligent 
and  thrifty,  a  valuable  and  important  element  of  the 
population.  Many  of  the  men  were  mechanics  and 
traders  employed  away  from  home,  some  of  them  being 
wealthy  merchants  in  Italy,  Spain,  Austria,  and  Russia ; 
but  all  were  sure  to  come  back  in  old  age  to  spend  the 
evening  of  their  days  upon  their  native  soil.  The  two 
largest  and  most  important  of  these  villages  were  Met- 
zovo  and  Kalarytes,  in  Pindus.^  There  are  many  Wal- 
lachs  also,  called  Tzintzars  by  their  Slavonian  neighbors, 
in  the  districts  further  north.  They  inhabit  some  villages 
in  Eastern  Servia,  form  a  prosperous  trading  class  in  the 
larger  towns,  and  are  numerous  as  wild  and  savage  shep- 
herds among  the  mountains.  Of  these  Tzintzars,  Mac- 
kenzie and  Irby  saw  much.  They  speak  of  them  as 
shrewd  and  industrious,  but  sly,  grinding,  and  servile. 
At  the  grand  old  monastery  of  Rilo  they  met  some  speci- 
mens of  the  shepherd  Wallachs,  which  are  thus  described: 
"  Strange  worshipers  were  in  the  temple  —  shepherds 
from  the  Balkan,  talking  a  barbarous  dialect  of  Latin,  and 
calling  themselves  *  Romans,'  while  they  live  as  savages. 
These  people  herd  flocks,  and,  when  the  m6n  are  absent; 
*  Northern  Greece,  i.  274-283. 


466  THE  WALLACHIANS. 

the  women  defend  the  huts,  and  like  the  female  Alba- 
nians are  noted  for  their  accurate  shooting."  **  But  for 
such  monasteries  as  that  of  Rilo,  these  shepherds  would 
be  shut  out  from  any  form  of  worship ;  but  here  they 
assemble  at  certain  times  to  confess  and  take  the  sacra- 
ment. How  far  these  people  are  edified  by  services  in 
a  language  which  they  understand  not  is  an  open  ques- 
tion ;  but  we  were  witnesses  of  the  instruction  which  in 
such  instances  may  be  conveyed  by  sacred  pictures.  A 
fresco  of  the  birth  of  Christ  is  painted  on  the  wall  of  the 
church.  One  of  the  shepherd  pilgrims  caught  sight  of  it, 
and  shouted  out  in  rapture,  *  See,  there  is  the  birth  of 
the  Christ'  The  women  crowded  round  him,  and  he 
pointed  out  to  them  the  Babe,  the  mother,  and  the  star; 
the  shepherds,  the  ox,  the  ass — explaining  as  he  went 
on."  1  The  number  of  people  now  living  who  speak  the 
Wallachian  language  is  estimated  at  eight  millions. 

Wallachian,  Wallach,  or  Vlach  is  a  name  of  doubtful 
origin  and  meaning,^  which  the  Roumanian  people  them- 
selves reject,  acknowledging  no  other  appellation  than 
Roumani,  or  Romans.  This  fact  and  the  kindred  fact 
that  the  language  everywhere  spoken  by  them,  and 
everywhere  the  same,  is  nothing  else  than  a  barbarized 
Latin,  point  unmistakably  to  their  origin.  They  are  the 
descendants  of  the  mixed  population  which,  under  the 
Roman  Emperors,  occupied  the  provinces  of  Macedonia, 
Thrace,   Moesia,   and    Dacia — a  vast   region,  stretching 

*  Mackenzie  and  Irby,  pp.  73  and  128. 

*  Colonel  Leake  observes  that  tlie  Slavonians  called  their  Latin-speak- 
ing neighbors  Vlachs,  or  shepherds,  from  their  usual  occupation.  Bat  this 
oiigin  of  the  term  other  authorities  are  inclined  to  questions 


THE  WALLACHIANS,  467 

from  the  frontiers  of  Greece  to  about  the  forty-eighth 
parallel  of  north  latitude.  By  the  overmastering  energy 
of  Roman  civilization  and  the  Roman  administration,  the 
whole  of  this  immense  population,  in  the  course. of  a  few- 
generations,  v/as  effectually  fused  and  blended  into  one 
thoroughly  Romanized  and  Latin-speaking  people.  By 
the  year  500  this  social  transformation  was  complete ; 
and  the  language  spoken  by  the  common  people  of 
Thrace  and  Moesia  was  very  nearly  the*  same  with  the 
Wallachian  of  the  present  day.^ 

For  a  period  of  perhaps  two  hundred  years  the  peo- 
ple of  these  provinces  lived  in  prosperity  and  peace. 
Foreign  wars  there  were  none,  the  fiscal  exactions  of  the 
imperial  government  were  not  excessive,  its  civil  admin- 
istration was  vigorous  arid  steady,  its  laws  were  com- 
paratively equal  and  mild.  But  long  before  the  Roman- 
izing process  was  complete  among  them,  the  days  of 
their  prosperity  had  passed  away  to  return  no  more. 
The  Roman  legions  had  learned  the  terrible  secret  of 
their  own  power,  and  had  begun  to  make  and  unmake 
Emperors  at  their  will.  Rival  Emperors  filled  the  Em- 
pire with  strife,  the  provinces  were  wasted  and  ruined 
by  civil  wars.  The  necessities  of  the  Emperors  were  in- 
creased by  the  confusion  of  the  times,  and,  while  the 
wealth  of  society  was  diminishing,  they  were  obliged  to 
multiply  taxes  and  exactions  of  every  kind.  And  then, 
to  complete  the  ruin  of  the  unhappy  Empire,  came  the 
successive  waves  of  barbarian  invasion  from  the  North. 
By  the  fiscal  tyranny  of  the  imperial  government,  and 
the  destroying  inroads  of  the  northern  tribes,  which  be- 

^  Finlay*s  Byzantine  Empire,  ii.  281  ;    Gibbon,  i.  4^ 


468  THE  WALLACHIANS, 

gan  with  the  great  invasion  of  the  Goths  in  the  year  250, 
the  Romanized,  Latin-speaking  people  of  these  provinces 
were  gradually  wasted  and  consumed  ;  until,  in  the  course 
of  three  or  four  hundred  years,  they  entirely  disappeared. 
But  they  had  not  perished.  They  had  retired  to  the 
mountains  adjacent  to  their  several  districts,  and  in  these 
secure  retreats,  almost  forgotten  and  unknown  by  the 
world  at  large,  they  still  existed  as  a  race  of  rude  and 
hardy  shepherds,  until,  as  we  have  seen,  the  time  came 
for  them  to  reappear  and  once  more  play  an  important 
part  in  the  great  drama  of  human  affairs. 

The  Principality  of  Roumania,  with  the  small  disputed 
province  of  Bessarabia,  between  Roumania  and  Russia, 
forms  about  the  south-eastern  half  of  the  Roman  province 
of  Dacia.  The  other  half  of  Dacia  is  now  part  of  the 
Empire  of  Austria.  It  extended  on  the  west  nearly  or 
quite  to  the  River  Theiss ;  on  the  north  to  the  Carpa- 
thian Mountains  and  the  River  Dniester.  When,  in  the 
year  98,  Trajan  assumed  the  imperial  purple,  the  Dan- 
ube, throughout  its  entire  length,  had  long  been  the 
northern  boundary  of  the  Empire  of  Rome,  Dacia  was 
then  a  powerful  state,  governed  by  King  Decebalus,  one 
of  the  ablest  and  most  formidable  enemies  ever  en- 
countered by  the  Roman  arms. 

The  Dacians  were  a  Sarmatian  people,  belonging  to 
the  great  Slavonian  family,  and  had  made  considerable 
progress  in  civilization.  Decebalus  had  inflicted  a  dis- 
astrous defeat  upon  the  Emperor  Domitian,  and  com- 
pelled him  to  purchase  an  ignominious  peace.  The  trib- 
ute promised  by  Domitian  Trajan  indignantly  refused  to 
pay,  and  prepared  to  vindicate  the  insulted  majesty  o^ 


THE  WALLACUIANS.  j^9 

Rome.  The  war  which  followed  was  long  and  desperate. 
The  Dacians,  neither  giving  nor  receiving  quarter,  doing 
all  in  their  power  to  exasperate  and  infuriate  the  Romans, 
fought  with  the  ferocious  courage  of  despair.  To  such  a 
war  there  could  then  be  but  one  issue.  The  Dacian  ar- 
mies were  defeated  and  scattered ;  their  cities  were  one 
after  another  taken  and  destroyed;  Decebalus  died  by 
his  own  hand,  and,  after  five  years  of  hard  and  bloody 
fighting,  Trajan  returned  to  Rome  boasting  that  he  had 
exterminated  the  Dacian  race.^  This  boast  was,  of  course, 
a  great  exaggeration  of  the  truth.  The  armies  and  cities 
of  the  conquered  country  had  been  destroyed,  but  a 
large  part  of  the  Dacian  people  must  have  still  been  in 
existence,  to  become  merged  in  the  new  population. 
The  fruitful  and  magnificent  region  thus  subdued,  Trajan 
determined  to  organize  into  a  Roman  province,  and  make 
it  the  defence  and  granary  of  his  Empire.  This  last  ex- 
tension of  the  Roman  boundaries  was  effected  in  the  year 
105.  Settlers  were  invited  from  all  quarters,  and  soon 
thirty  thousand  colonists  had  occupied  and  effectually  Ro- 
manized the  new  province.  For  a  hundred  and  sixty- five 
years  Roman  civilization  went  on,  doing  unimpeded  its 
proper  work  upon  the  Dacian  territory,  until  the  whole 
population  of  the  province  had  become  insensibly  melted 
into  the  great  Latin-speaking  people  of  the  Empire. 

In  the  year  270  the  Emperor  AureHan  ended  a  long 
and  terrible  struggle  with  a  vast  invading  host  of  Goths 
and  Vandals,  by  a  treaty  of  peace  in  which  he  tacitly  re- 
linquished to  them  the  province  of  Dacia,  which  the 
weakened  Empire  could  no  longer  defend,  and  with- 
^  Gibbon,  i.  6. 


47©  THE  WALLACHIANS, 

drew  the  Roman  armies  to  the  south  of  the  Danube.  A 
large  body  of  the  people  of  the  abandoned  province  were 
removed  across  the  Danube,  and  received  a  new  settle- 
ment in  the  wasted  districts  of  Mpesia;  but  the  great 
majority  of  the  provincials  remained  in  their  homes  to 
teach  the  arts  of  industry  and  civilization  to  the  Goths. 
This  new  arrangement  proved  highly  advantageous  to 
all  concerned.  The  Goths,  here  as  afterwards  in  Italy 
and  Spain,  proved  themselves  apt  and  ready  pupils  of 
their  better  instructed  subjects,  adopted  gradually  their 
manners  and  their  language,  and  became  fused  with  them 
to  some  extent  into  one  people.^ 

The  new  and  independent  kingdom  thus  formed  re- 
mained for  about  fifty  years  in  firm  alliance  with  the 
Empire,  and  proved  often  its  surest  safeguard  against 
the  barbarians  of  the  North.  How  far,  during  these 
fifty  years,  the  old  Latin-speaking  population  of  Dacia 
was  increased  by  accessions  from  the  Goths,  it  is  impos- 
sible to  say.  It  is  clear,  however,  that  at  the  end  of 
this  period  this  people  had  reached  the  utmost  limit  of 
its  prosperity  and  its  numbers.  After  this,  the  Goths  of 
Dacia  seem  to  have  been  lost  in  the  ever-shifting  hordes 
of  the  Ostrogoths  (or  Eastern  Goths,  in  distinction  from 
the  Visigoths,  or  Western  Goths),  who,  advancing  towards 
the  south-east  from  Scandinavia  and  Germany,  had  occu- 
pied the  country  as  far  to  the  east  as  the  River  Dnieper 
and  the  Sea  of  Azov.^  From  this  time^  on,  the  old 
Romanized  inhabitants  of  Dacia,  driven  step  by  step 
from  the  cities  and  open  country,  would  seem  to  have 
been  gradually  concentrated  among  the  highlands  of  the 

*  Gibbon,  i.  342.        *  Id.,  i.  289;  ii.  169,  582.       ^  About  A.D.  325., 


THE  WALLACfflANS.  471 

Carpathian  Mountains,  where  for  many  centuries  they 
remained  forgotten  by  the  world. 

About  the  year  375  came  the  great  invasion  of  the 
Huns — the  first  of  those  destroying  deluges  in  which,  for 
a  thousand  years,  the  Tartar  nations  of  Central  Asia 
continued  to  dash  themselves  upon  Eastern  Europe.  In 
a  few  years  the  terrible  Attila  had  fixed  the  camp  or 
capital  of  the  Huns  upon  the  plains  of  Upper  Hungary, 
from  which  he  swayed  the  nations  of  Europe  from  the 
Tiber  to  the  Baltic  and  from  the  Volga  to  the  Rhine. ^  A 
hundred  and  fifty  years  later,  the  Bulgarians,  a  kindred 
tribe  who  had  entered  Europe  in  the  wake  of  the  Huns, 
crossed  the  Danube  with  their  Slavonian  subjects,  to  de- 
vastate the  provinces  of  Moesia  and  Macedonia,  which 
they  afterwards  occupied  in  permanent  possession.^  Af- 
ter the  Bulgarians  came  the  Avars,  another  tribe  of  the 
same  great  Tartar  race,  who,  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
sixth  century,  established  a  kingdom  embracing  the  same 
territories  which  had  belonged  to  the  old  province  of 
Dacia,  and  which  endured  for  two  hundred  and  thirty 
years.^  Towards  the  close  of  the  ninth  century,  another 
Hungarian  invasion  established  the  Magyars  in  Hungary 
and  Transylvania,  where  they  have  ever  since  remained 
the  dominant  race,'*  while  the  Szeklers  are  supposed  to 
represent  the  older  Huns,  and  perhaps  the  Avars.^  In  the 
ten  years  following  1235  came  by  far  the  most  terrible 
of  all  these  successive  waves  of  Tartar  invasion.  At  the 
head  of  five  hundred   thousand  horsemen,   Baton,   the 

^  Gibbon,  iii.  391,  409.  ^  Id.,  iv.  205,  392. 

*  Id.,  iv.  198,  V.  405.  ■*  Id.,  V.  410-421. 

"  Boner,  Edinburgh  Review,  January,  1866,  p.  68. 

21 


472  THE  WALLA  CHI ANS, 

grandson  of  Ghengis  Khan,  swept  over  Russia,  Poland, 
Hungary,  Bosnia,  Servia,  and  Bulgaria,  leaving  his  track 
everywhere  a  desert  of  ashes  and  blood.  Upon  the 
death  of  Octai  Khan,  in  1245,  Baton  returned  to  build 
upon  a  branch  of  the  lower  Volga  the  new  city  and 
palace  of  Serai,  where  for  two  hundred  years  he  ajid  his 
successors,  the  Khans  of  the  Golden  Horde,  continued 
to  reign  over  Russia  and  the  pastoral  tribes  of  Kipzak  in 
Western  Asia.^  For  a  long  time  after  the  founding  of 
Serai,  the  Tartars  wandered  in  sole  and  undisputed  pos- 
session over  the  Crimea,  the  steppes  of  Southern  Russia, 
and  the  lowlands  of  Moldavia  and  Wallachia,  to  the  base 
of  the  Carpathian  Mountains.  The  Crimea  was  occu- 
pied by  them,  as  nominal  tributaries  to  the  Ottoman 
Sultans,  until  1783.  During  all  this  time  the  Crimea 
was  the  seat  of  a  great  and  terrible  trade  in  slaves,  most 
of  whom,  at  least  in  earlier  times,  were  captives,  taken 
by  the  Moslem  Tartars  from  their  Christian  neighbors.^ 
Through  all  these  troubled  and  bloody  ages,  the  old 
Latin-speaking  people,  who  had  been  expelled  from  tte 
plains  of  Dacia  in  the  fourth  century,  and  who  now  be- 
come known  to  us  under  their  new  name  as  Vlachs,  or 
Wallachs,  had  been  living,  in  more  or  less  of  security 
and  prosperity,  the  life  of  hardy  and  rugged  shepherds 
among  the  Carpathian  Mountains.  In  the  latter  part  of 
the  thirteenth  century  we  find  them  a  numerous  and 
widely  extended  people,  living  under  a  Count  or  Voivode 
of  theii  own,  tributary  to  the  King  of  Hungary.^  PauJ- 
of  Aleppo  spent  three  years,  in  1654-5  and  1657-9,  in 

^  Gibbon,  vi.  219;  Wallace's  Russia,  chap.  xxii. 
*  Wallace,  p.  353.  '  Macarius,  ii.  329. 


THE  WALLACHIANS,  473 

Moldavia  and  Wallachia.  In  his  simple  and  gossippy,  but 
full  and  trustworthy  narrative,  he  has  thrown  a  flood  of 
light  upon  the  condition  of  the  Principalities  at  that  time, 
and  no  little  also  upon  their  earlier  history.  In  the  pas- 
sage just  referred  to,  he  tells  us  that  the  territories  of 
Wallachia  and  Moldavia  were  formally  occupied  by  the 
Tartars  of  Southern  Russia,  but  wholly  destitute  of  fixed 
inhabitants ;  and  that  the  Count  of  the  Wallachians, 
coming  down  from  the  Carpathians  to  pasture  his  horses 
in  these  lands,  obtained  leave  from  the  King  of  Hungary 
to  occupy  them  in  permanent  possession.  Having  ob- 
tained this  permission,  he  was  able  to  expel  the  Tartars, 
and  became  lord  of  all  Wallachia.  This  first  Voivode 
of  Wallachia  was  Rudolph  the  Black,  who,  at  the  head 
of  his  boyars  or  nobles,  established  himself  in  the  Princi- 
pality in  1290. 

In  1359  Bogden  Dragosch  crossed  the  Carpathians  at 
the  head  of  another  Wallachian  colony,  and  became  the 
first  Voivode  of  Moldavia.^  Until  they  submitted  to  the 
Turks,  these  princes  claimed  to  be  independent ;  but  be- 
tween the  Hungarians  on  the  west,  the  Poles  on  the 
north,  and  the  Cossacks  and  Tartars  on  the  east,  they 
were  harassed  by  constant  and  bloody  wars. 

In  1 391  Bajazet  crossed  the  Danube,  and  made  the 
Principalities  tributary  provinces  of  his  Empire.  In  1460 
Mohammed  II.  granted  a  capitulation  or  constitution  to 
Wallachia,  which,  in  substance,  remained  in  effect  almost 

*  Noyes,  p.  156.  It  would  seem  that  the  Wallachian  boyars  may  have 
belonged  originally  to  some  one  of  the  barbarian  tiibes,  perhaps  the  Goths, 
who  established  themselves  as  a  domina  it  race  upon  the  Dacian  territory 
after  the  withdrawal  of  the  Roman  armies. 


474  THE  WALLACHIANS, 

to  the  present  day.  By  the  terms  of  this  charter,  the 
Voivodes  were  to  be  freely  elected  by  the  prelates  and 
boyars,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  Porte;  were  to 
acknowledge  themselves  the  subjects  of  the  Sultan,  and 
pay  an  annual  tribute  of  ten  thousand  piastres,  in  return 
for  which  they  were  to  be  entitled  to  military  protection. 
The  Principality  was  to  be  governed  by  its  own  laws,  was 
to  have  the  right  to  make  war  and  peace,  and  no  Turk 
was  to  settle  in  it  unless  for  some  sufficient  reason.  Apos- 
tates from  Christianity,  abjuring  Islam,  were  to  be  safe  in 
Wallachia.  No  mosque  should  ever  be  built  in  the  Prin- 
cipality ;  no  Wallachian  should  be  enslaved  by  a  Turk, 
or  subjected  to  the  capitation  tax  in  Turkey ;  and  the 
Sultan  was  never  to  interfere  by  firmans  in  the  internal 
affairs  of  the  province.  After  the  battle  of  Mohacs,  in 
1 5  29,  Solyman  I*,  granted  a  similar  constitution  to  Mol- 
davia/ 

These  charters  were  by  no  means  a  dead  letter.  They 
remained  the  basis  of  government  in  the  two  Principali- 
ties until  their  union  in  186 1.  And  yet  it  is  more  than 
doubtful  whether  this  semi-independence  of  the  Rouma- 
nian people  has  not  been  an  evil  to  them  rather  than  a 
good  ;  whether  it  would  not  have  been  far  better  for  them 
if  the  Turkish  conquest  of  their  country  had  been  as 
complete  and  permanent  as  it  was  in  the  provinces  the 
other  side  of  the  Danube.  The  judgment  of  Dr.  Noyes, 
recorded  soon  after  the  Crimean  war,^  that  the  Wallaeh- 
ians  were  the  worst  governed  people  in  the  world,  is  but 
the  embodied  verdict  of  all  intelligent  witnesses  for  the 
past  two  hundred  years.      The  Voivodes,  or  Hospodars 

»  Walsh,  p.  155 ;  Tennent,  ii.  20,  21.  *  Roumania,  p.  113. 


THE  WALLACHIANS.  475 

(their  more  common  appellation),  holding  their  power  by 
a  very  uncertain  tenure,  have  usually  been  little  else  than 
rapacious  tyrants,  making  it  their  great  aim  to  scrape  to- 
gether the  largest  possible  amount  of  treasure  while  the 
power  remained  in  their  hands.  The  boyars,  a  set  of 
feudal  landlords,  without  refinement  or  character,  their 
houses  filled  with  slaves,  and  their  veins  often  with  ser- 
vile blood — cringing,  fawning  sycophants  in  the  presence 
of  the  Hospodars — were  worse  tyrants  than  they  upon 
their  own  estates.  The  peasants,  mere  serfs  and  slaves 
of  the  boyars,  without  any  rights  or  any  hope  of  better 
days,  burrowing  in  filthy  underground  huts,  were  sunk 
in  an  utter  squalidness  of  wretchedness,  poverty,  and 
want,  to  be  found  nowhere  else  in  the  civilized  world. ^ 

It  is  probable  that  no  other  country  in  Europe  has  had 
a  history  so  bloody  and  troubled  as  that  of  Wallachia  and 
Moldavia  throughout  almost  the  whole  period  of  their 
political  existence.  There  is  nothing  to  indicate  that  the 
three  years  spent  by  the  Patriarch  Macarius  and  his  son 
in  the  Principalities  were  unusually  filled  with  misfortunes 
and  disasters  to  the  Roumanian  people,  yet  the  story  of 
two  of  these  three  years,  as  told  by  Paul  of  Aleppo,  is 
simply  appalling.  On  the  arrival  of  our  travelers  at 
Yassi,  the  capital  of  Moldavia,  in  the  summer  of  1654, 
they  were  received  with  great  kindness  and  courtesy  by 
the  Voivode,  Vasili  Beg,  a  prince  of  unusual  attainments, 
ability,  and  energy,  who  had  filled  the  throne  for  twenty- 
three  years.^     But  Vasili  Beg  was  a  Greek ;  and  under 

^  Tennent,  ii.  p.  33-45  ;  Noyes,  p.  208. 

^  Our  author  was  filled  with  wonder  at  "the  venerable  dignity  of  the 
Beg,  his  knowledge  and  acquirements,  the  excellence  of  his  good  sense,  his 


47fi  THE  WALLACHI4NS, 

his  government  all  offices  were  filled  with  Greeks,  while 
the  Wallachian  boyars  were  treated  with  cruel  oppression 
and  scorn. 

Of  the  Moldavian  people,  the  Archdeacon  formed  a 
very  unfavorable  opinion.  "■  God  Almighty  has  not  cre- 
ated upon  the  face  of  the  earth  a  more  vicious  people 
than  the  Moldavians ;  for  the  men  are  all  of  them  mur- 
derers and  robbers.  .  .  .  As  to  their  wives  and 
daughters,  they  are  utterly  destitute  of  modesty  and 
character;  and  though  the  Beg  cuts  off  their  noses,  and 
puts  them  in  the  pillory,  and  drowns  many  of  them,  so 
as  to  have  caused  some  thousands  of  them  to  perish,  yet 
he  proves  too  weak  to  correct  their  manners.  .  .  .  The 
fast  of  Lent  is  strictly  observed  by  the  Court  and  the 
higher  classes  of  the  people.  But  the  lower  orders  keep 
no  fast,  nor  perform  any  prayer,  nor  appear  to  have  any 
religion  at  all.  They  are  Christians  only  in  name ;  and 
their  priests  set  them  the  example  of  passing  whole  nights 
in  debauchery  and  intoxication.  Such  are  the  scenes  we 
witnessed  in  this  country..  But  in  Wallachia,  which  God 
preserve  !  it  is  very  different ;  and  the  religiousness  of  its 

profound  acquaintance  with  the  writings  of  the  Ancients  and  the  Moderns, 
as  well  Pagans  and  Christians  as  Turks,"  and  adds  :  "He  has  printed  a 
great  deal  in  his  time — Church  books,  Practices  of  Devotion,  and  Com- 
mentaries—and for  his  own  people  in  Moldavia,  works  in  the  Wallachian 
language.  Formerly  the  people  read  their  prayers  only  in  the  Servian 
tongue,  which  is  akin  to  the  Russ-ian;  for,  from  Bulgaria  and  Servia  to 
Wallachia  and  Moldavia,  thence  to  the  country  of  the  Cossacks'  and  to  Mos- 
cow, they  all  read  in  the  Servian,  in  which  all  their  books  are  written.  But 
the  language  of  the  Wallachians  and  Moldavians  is  Wallachian,  and  they  do 
not  understand  what  they  read  in  Servian.  For  this  reason,  he  has  built  for 
them,  near  his  monastery,  a  large  college  of  stone,  and  has  printed  for  them 
books  in  their  own  language." — Travels,  &c.,  i.  58. 


THE  WALLA  cm ANS.  477 

Inhabitants,  their  moderation  and  good  conduct,  are  pre- 
eminent." The  justice  of  Vasili  Beg  had  been  terrible, 
and  a  woman  could  travel  in  safety  with  gold  upon  her 
person.  "  It  is  calculated  that  since  the  time  that  Vasili 
became  Beg,  he  has  put  to  death  more  than  fourteen 
thousand  robbers,  by  register  of  judgment.  And  yet  he 
condemned  not  to  death  for  the  first  crime,  but  used  to 
flog  and  torture  and  pillory  the  criminals."  ^ 

Our  travelers  had  hardly  settled  themselves  pleasantly 
at  Yassi,  when  their  quiet  and  comfort  were  rudely  dis- 
turbed. The  unfairness  and  severity  of  Vasili's  govern- 
ment had  prepared  the  way  for  his  sudden  and  violent 
overthrow.  The  Great  Logothete,  or  High  Chancellor, 
stole  away  to  Bucharest,  and  presently  returning  with  a 
force  of  Wallachians  and  Hungarians,  proclaimed  the  de- 
position of  Vasili  and  his  own  accession  to  the  throne. 
In  this  emergency  Vasili  sent  for  help  to  his  son-in-law, 
Timotheus,  the  son  of  Akhmil,  the  Hetman  of  the  Cos- 
sacks. The  Cossacks  soon  appeared,  chased  the  invad- 
ing army  out  of  the  Principality,  and  restored  Vasili  to 
his  capital,  pursuing  meantime  the  adherents  of  the  new 
Beg,  and  the  unfortunate  Jews  and  Turks  of  the  capital, 
with  every  form  of  cruelty  and  extortion.  Presently, 
however,  the  Cossacks  were  themselves  defeated,  and  the 

'  Travels  of  Macarius,  i.  62-63.  '^^^  judgment  of  the  good  Archdeacon 
respecting  the  character  of  the  Moldavians  and  Wallachians  must  evidently 
be  taken  with  some  grains  of  allowance.  He  saw  the  Moldavians  through 
the  eyes  of  Vasili  Beg  and  his  Greek  underlings,  whose  iron  but  hated  rule 
had  filled  the  country  with  enemies  and  outlaws.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
abject  superstition  of  the  Wallachians,  which  caused  them  to  bow  in  hum- 
ble reverence  before  *'  our  Lord  the  Patriarch,"  seemed  to  our  author  the 
very  perfection  of  piety. 


4^  THE  WALLACHIANS, 

invading  army  returned  to  wreak  a  more  terrible  ven- 
geance upon  the  Greeks  and  the  adherents  of  Vasili.  In 
the  course  of  these  movements  Timotheus  himself  fell, 
when  Akhmil  sent  to  the  assistance  of  Vasili  a  fresh  army 
of  forty  thousand  Cossacks  and  twenty-eight  thousand 
Tartars.  The  terror  of  the  Tartar  name  was  the  last  drop 
in  the  cup  of  the  unhappy  Principality.  The  whole  peo- 
ple forsook  their  homes  and  fled  to  the  deserts  and  the 
mountains.  In  Yassi  not  an  inhabitant  remained ;  even 
the  convents  were  deserted.^  During  these  days  of  con- 
fusion and  violence  the  breast  of  our  gentle  historian  was 
filled  with  fears  and  alarms  which  no  language  could  de- 
scribe. "•  We  were  confined  as  prisoners  all  this  time  in 
Moldavia,  confused  in  mind  and  straitened  in  spirit 
These  terrors,  these  dreads  and  horrors  which  rushed 
upon  us  were  such  as  might  turn  the  hair  of  children 
gray.  .  .  .  We  had  no  power  to  move  on  our  tra- 
vels, neither  forward  to  the  country  of  the  Cossacks,  nor 
yet  backwards  ;  for  the  people  of  the  provinces  were  all 
turned  robbers  and  assassins,  and  murdered  every  per- 
son on  the  road  whom  they  caught  in  his  flight."  * 
Akhmil's  Cossacks  and  Tartars  advanced  as  far  as  the 
River  Truth,  when,  hearing  that  Vasili's  treasures  had 

^  The  convents,  or  monasteries,  which  were  very  numerous,  were  very 
strongly  built,  and  were  the  fortresses  of  the  country. 

^  Id.,  i.  93.  The  terror  inspired  among  the  Moldavians  by  the  coming 
of  the  Tartars  was  not  without  good  reason.  Our  author  closes  his  account 
of  Moldavia  in  these  words :  "Its  population  is  innumerable,  although  the 
Tartars  are  continually  making  incursions  into  it,  and  carrying  off  its  in- 
habitants. In  the  time  of  Vasili,  but  some  five  years  before  he  assumed 
the  government,  they  came  on  a  sudden,  and  carried  away  about  seventy- 
five  thousand  souls." — Id.,  i.  lOO.  The  prisoners  tlius  taken  went  to  stock 
the  slave  markets  of  the  Crimea.     See  above,  p.  472. 


THE  WALLACHIANS,  479 

been  taken,  they  halted  and  returned  home.  After  this, 
Stephani  Beg,  the  rebel  Chancellor,  received  his  investi- 
ture as  Hospodar  of  Moldavia. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1655,  Macarius  and  his  son  left 
Moldavia  and  proceeded  to  Torghist,  the  winter  capital 
of  Wallachia.  Here  they  were  kindly  received  by  Mat- 
thi  Beg,  the  Voivode,  who  soon  after  died.  Matthi  Beg 
had  lived  on  good  terms  with  the  Turks  and  Tartars,  and 
had  reigned  prosperously  for  twenty-three  years.  He 
had  accumulated  a  large  treasure,  which  he  left  behind 
him,  although  he  had  expended  great  sums  in  building 
churches  and  monasteries  in  every  part  of  the  Principality. 
To  the  circumstance  of  Matthi  Beg's  death  at  this  tinie 
we  are  indebted  for  the  full  and  important  account  given 
us  by  Paul  of  Aleppo,  of  the  election  and  investiture  of 
his  successor.  "  All  the  Grandees  assembled  in  the  first 
place  and  held  a  council ;  then  they  elected  without  delay 
an  archon,  who  was  called  Constantino  Efendi-Kopulo. 

.  .  Then  they  went  forth  from  the  church  to  the 
outside  of  the  palace,  and  the  Metropolitan  ascended  to  a 
high  place  and  said  to  the  people,  '  Your  Efendi  (judge) 
is  deceased  ;  whom  therefore  do  you  wish  that  we  should 
raise  in  his  place  to  be  Governor  over  you  ? '  The  cry 
of  the  Grandees,  the  army,  and  the  whole  people,  with 
one  voice,  was,  'We  will  have  none  but  Constantine, 
son  of  Shraban,  for  Voivoda.'  "  Constantine  was  then  led  • 
to  the  cathedral,  where  he  was  solemnly  consecrated, 
clothed  in  sacerdotal  and  royal  robes,  and  seated  upon 
the  throne,  after  which  the  oath  of  allegiance  was  admin- 
istered to  the  boyars  and  officials.  At  this  time  the  two 
Principalities  were  under  the  supervision  of  the  Pasha  of 


^So  THE  WALLACHIANS. 

Silistria,  through  whom  alone  the  Voivodes  could  hold 
communication  with  the  Sublime  Porte.  Having  been 
duly  elected  and  enthroned  by  his  own  people,  Constan- 
tine's  next  step  was  to  send  to  Constantinople,  through 
the  Pasha  of  Silistria,  for  the  throne  and  banner  with 
which  the  Sultans  were  accustomed  to  grant  investiture 
to  the  newly  elected  Hospodars.  By  liberal  payments  all 
round,  amounting  in  the  aggregate  to  one  million  piastres, 
or  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars,  these 
insignia  of  office  were  readily  obtained.^  Our  travelers 
were  impressed  very  favorably  by  the  religious  and  moral 
character,  and  the  quiet,  orderly  conduct  of  the  Wallach- 
ian  people,  especially  by  the  modesty  and  virtue  of  the 
women.  They  were  greatly  surprised  at  the  multitude — 
"tribes  and  tribes" — of  soldiers.  But  although  wine, 
beer,  and  spirits  were  sold  everywhere,  and  the  soldiers 
drank  as  freely  a2  they  pleased,  they  saw  among  them  no 
intoxication  or  disorders  of  any  kind.^  Immediately 
after  the  accession  of  Constantlne,  the  Patriarch  and  his 
son  departed  for  Russia,  where  they  remained  for  two 
years  and  three  months. 

Late  in  the  autumn  of  1657  ^^Y  returned  to  Walla- 
chia,  where  they  spent  a  year  very  agreeably  in  visiting 
the  multitude  of  rich  and  strongly  fortified  monasteries 
with  which  the  Principality  was  filled.  But  just  at  the 
beginning  of  the  winter  of  1658-9  events  suddenly  oc- 
curred by  which  everything  was  changed.  "  News 
arrived  from  Constantinople,"  the  Archdeacon  writes, 
'•  that  the  Beg  was  deposed.  .  .  .  This  became  the 
occasion  of  the  ruin  of  Wallachia,  of  the  abduction  of 
^  Id.,  i.  144-153-  '^  Id-,  i-  121,  131,  133. 


THE  WALLACHIANS,  481 

fts  inhabitants  into  captivity  and  slavery,  and  of  its  utter 
desolation.  To  us  it  became  the  source  of  innumerable 
and  indescribable  frights  and  horrors."  '  The  year  pre- 
vious, the  Grand  Vizier  had  demanded  of  the  King  of 
Hungary,  and  the  Voivodes  of  the  two  Principalities,  a 
heavy  and  illegal  war  contribution,  which  they  refused  to 
pay.  Enraged  at  this  affront,  he  now  obtained  an  impe- 
rial firman  deposing  the  three  princes  and  elevating  to 
the  throne  of  Wallachia  a  man  named  Michael,  the  son 
of  a  former  Voivode  of  Wallachia,  but  for  twenty-five 
years  a  member  of  the  Sultan's  household  at  Constanti- 
nople. This  seems  to  have  been  the  first  case  in  which 
the  Sultan  had  ever  appointed  a  Voivode  for  either  Princi- 
pality— an  exception  which  sixty  years  later  was  to  be- 
come the  rule. 

The  deposed  King  of  Hungary  gathered  an  army  to 
defend  his  rights,  when  a  ruinous  war  began.  In  the 
beginning  of  winter  the  Turks  crossed  the  Danube,  and, 
with  a  strong  confederate  force  of  Tartars  from  the  Cri- 
mea, entered  the  Principalities.  All  was  terror  and  con- 
fusion. The  cold  was  intense,  and  the  snow  lay  deep 
upon  the  ground,  but  the  people  of  almost  the  whole  of 
Wallachia  abandoned  their  homes  and  fled  to  the  moun- 
tains. "  The  circumstances  of  the  miserable  Wallachians 
were  such,"  observes  our  author  with  good  reason,  ^^  as 
to  draw  tears  and  wailings  from  the  beholder."  The 
retreating  Constantine,  out  of  a  vengeful  spite  against 
his  rival  and  successor,  ordered  Bucharest  to  be  burned 
to  the  ground,  The  command  was  obeyed,  and  of  the 
great  city,  the  ancient  capital  of  the  Voivodes,  nothing 

1  Id.,  ii.  382. 
21 


4St  THE  WALLACHIANS, 

was  left  btit  the  vaulted  and  fire-proof  churches.  In  re- 
venge for  this  outrage  the  Turkish  Pasha  ordered  Torg- 
hist  to  be  burned,  of  which  the  destruction  was  so  com- 
plete that  not  one  building  remained  above  ground- 
The  Tartars  pursued  the  flying  people  to  their  retreats 
and  filled  the  mountains  with  rapine  and  blood,  until,  hav- 
ing set  Michael  upon  the  throne  of  the  ruined  Principal- 
ity, they  retired,  driving  before  them  a  miserable  crowd 
of  captives,  variously  estimated  at  from  seventy-five  thou- 
sand to  a  hundred  and  "fifty  thousand  souls. 

The  next  spring  the  Turks  gathered  their  forces  for 
the  invasion  of  Hungary,  when  the  Wallachians,  expect- 
ing that  the  Tartars  would  return,  again  fled  fi-om  their 
homes.  Bucharest  was  emptied  of  inhabitants,  and  the 
Patriarch  and  his  son  were  reduced  to  great  distress.  Their 
chief  desire  now  was  to  escape  from  the  country.  With 
much  difficulty  the  Archdeacon  succeeded  in  obtaining 
two  wagons,  in  which,  in  company  with  other  fugitives, 
he  conveyed  the  baggage  of  the  party  to  Galatz.  He 
then  returned  in  safety  to  Bucharest,  a  distance  of  about 
a  hundred  and  twenty-five  miles,  through  the  awful  soli- 
tude of  an  absolute  desert.  **  Our  greatest  timidity,"  he 
writes,  '*  was  occasioned  by  the  total  emigration  of  the 
whole  people  of  the  country,  on  our  track  of  march  ;  for 
we  found  not  a  single  person,  nor  even  a  dog,  or  any 
other  animal,  from  Galatz  to  Bokaresht.  We  stumbled 
on  some  dead  bodies  in  our  path,  and  the  whole  world 
was  a  blot.  Except  Almighty  God,  we  had  no  com- 
panion of  our  journey,  during  which  our  eyes  were  con- 
tinually going  the  round  of  the  horizon  ;  and  at  night  we 
could  sleep  only  in  open  fields,  removed  from  the  road, 


THE  WALLACHIANS,  483 

for  fear  our  steps  should  be  traced  and  we  should  be 
overtaken  and  swept  away.  We  reached  Bokaresht  on 
the  Saturday  preceding  the  Lent  of  Our  Lady,  in  forty 
days  in  all,  with  our  hearts  rent  by  continual  fears  and 
the  loss  of  our  horses,  which  we  killed  with  the  fatigue  of 
almost  constant  running  both  day  and  night."  Soon  af- 
ter this  comparative  quiet  was  restored  for  a  short  time, 
and,  in  September,  1659,  our  travelers  reached  Galatz  on 
their  homeward  journey,  where  they  embarked  for  Sinope, 
on  the  coast  of  Asia  Minor.  ^ 

Towards  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century,  Pariayo- 
taki,  a  Greek  of  the  Island  of  Scio,  and  a  man  as  eminent 
for  virtue  and  patriotism  as  for  his  learning  and  ability,^ 
was  elevated  to  the  office  of  Dragoman  of  the  Council. 
In  this  office  he  really  held  the  high  position  of  Minister 
for  Foreign  Affairs  to  the  Sublime  Porte.  This  was  the 
beginning  of  their  great  and  long-enduring  power  to 
the  Greeks  of  the  Phanar.  Early  in  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury the  Sultan  determined  to  bestow  the  Hospodariats 
of  Wallachia  and  Moldavia  upon  the  most  faithful  and 
eminent  of  his  Greek  servants  at  Constantinople.  In 
pursuance  of  this  pian,  Nicholas  Mavrocordato,  a  son  of 
Alexander  Mavrocordato,  was  made  Hospodar  of  Molda- 
via in  171 5.  In  1 7 16,  Nicholas  was  transferred  to  Buch- 
arest, and  made  the  first  Phanariot  Hospodar  of  Wal- 
lachia.^ This  reign  of  the  Phanariot  Hospodars  in  the 
Principahties  continued  until  1823,  when,  at  the  demand 
of  Russia,  the  old  constitution  was  restored.    This  change 

^  Travels  of  Macarius,  ii.  382,  417.  *  See  above,  p.  196. 

'  Finlay's  Greece  under  Othoman  and  Venetian  Domination,  p   296: 
«ce  also  above,  pp.  196-9. 


^  THE  WALLACHJANS. 

in  the  government  of  the  Principahties  was  a  change  from 
bad  to  worse.  Many  of  the  Phanariot  Hospodars  were 
men  of  learning  and  ability ;  a  few  of  them  were  virtuous 
and  just.  They  did  much  for  the  cause  of  learning  at 
their  capitals,  a  little  towards  developing  the  material  in- 
terests of  their  principalities.  As  a  rule,  however,  they 
were  a  set  of  rapacious,  insatiable  tyrants,  as  pompous 
and  luxurious  as  they  were  unscrupulous  and  corrupt. 
Having  obtained  their  appointments,  they  set  forth  in 
royal  magnificence  and  started  for  their  capitals,  where 
the  boyars  gathered  around  them  in  obsequious  homage, 
and  where  they  found  themselves  the  absolute  masters  of 
their  principalities.  In  their  palaces,  amid  a  Crowd  of 
pompous  officials  with  high-sounding  titles,  they  endea- 
vored to  copy  the  frivolous  etiquette  and  cumbrous  cere- 
monial of  the  Court  of  the  later  Greek  Emperors  at  Con- 
stantinople.* In  the  wake  of  the  Hospodars  followed  a 
swarm  of  hungry,  unscrupulous  Greek  adventurers,  ready^ 
fo  seize  upon  every  office  and  lucrative  position,  who 
spread  themselves  like  cormorants  throughout  the  Princi- 
palities.^ If  this  monstrous  system  of  sponging  and  ex 
tortion  deserved  the  name  of  government,  it  was  certainly 
as  bad  a  government  as  anything  by  which  that  vener- 
able name  has  ever  been  disgraced.  *'  No  other  Chris- 
tian race  in  the  Othoman  dominions  was  exposed  to  so 
long  a  period  of  unmitigated  extortion  and  cruelty  as  the 
Roumanian  population  in  these  unfortunate  provinces.    It 

^  See  a  curious  account  of  the  Wallachian  Court  in  one  of  the  later 
chapters  of  Curzon's  Armenia. 

2  These  Phanariot  officials  of  the  Principalities  vere  the  true  original 
carpet-baggers,  whose  example  would  seem  to  have  been  well  studied  by 
their  worthy  successors  in  South  Carolina  and  Louisiana. 


THE  WALLACHIANS,  485 

IS  the  sad  duty  of  history  to  record  that  the  Othoman 
Turks  were  better  masters  to  the  various  races  they  con- 
quered than  the  Phanariot  Greeks  to  the  fellow  Christians 
committed  to  their  care  and  protection."  ^ 

This  state  of  things  continued  until  1802,  when  Alex- 
ander of  Russia  interfered,  claiming  and  securing  the 
right  of  supervision  over  the  affairs  of  the  Principalities. 
In  1823  Alexander  demanded  and  obtained  the  restora- 
tion of  the  old  constitution,  the  perpetual  exclusion  of 
the  Phanariots  from  the  government  of  the  Principali- 
ties, and  the  free  election  of  the  Hospodars  for  a  term  of 
seven  years.  Under  this  new  arrangement  Nicolas  Ghika 
was  chosen  Hospodar  of  Wallachia,  and  Jonan  Stourdza 
Hospodar  of  Moldavia.^  In  1829  another  change  was 
made,  in  accordance  with  which  the  Hospodars  were  to 
be  chosen  for  life,  the  Divan  having  no  power  to  depose 
them.  By  this  change  the  Roumanian  people  were 
effectually  relieved  from  the  rapacious  tyranny  of  Greek 
and  Turkish  officials,  but  beyond  this  it  brought  little 
improvement  to  their  condition.  It  was  the  Crimean 
war  which  fixed  the  attention  of  Europe  upon  the  Prin- 
cipalities, and  led  to  such  radical  changes  in  their  institu- 
tions and  government  as  brought  their  long  oppressed 
people  a  great  emancipation  and  the  beginning  of  better 
days. 

In  1859  Alexander  John  Couza  was  elected  Hospodar 
by  the  people  of  both  provinces.  This  double  election, 
looking  manifestly  towards  union,  was  a  surprise  to  the 

^  Finlay's  Greece  under  Othoman  and  Venetian  Domination,  p .  297 ;  sea 
also  Tennent,  ii.  30-^5. 
*  Tennent,  ii.  3a 


486  THE  WALLACHIANS, 

Cabinets  of  Europe.  The  movement  encountered  some 
hostility  at  first,  but  it  was  clearly  for  the  best  interests 
of  the  people  of  the  two  provinces ;  there  was  a  strong 
pubhc  sentiment  in  favor  of  healing  old  divisions  and 
bringing  broken,  divided  peoples  together ;  France  inter- 
posed her  good  offices,  and  all  opposition  was  overcome. 
In  December,  1861,  the  Union  was  proclaimed,  and  the 
ancient  Hospodariarts  of  Wallachia  and  Moldavia  were 
merged  in  the  Principality  of  Roumania.  Couza  was  not 
successful  in  his  administration,  and  in  February,  1866, 
he  was  compelled  to  abdicate.  The  Roumanian  people 
now,  as  the  Greeks  had  done  after  the  abdication  of 
Otho,  turned  their  eyes  to  the  West.  They  desired  a 
Protestant  Prince,  connected  with  one  of  the  reigning 
families  of  Europe ;  a  Prince  who  should  be  well  trained 
and  qualified  for  his  difficult  position ;  who  should  be  free 
from  the  dictation  of  Russia,  and  from  all  associations  in 
the  Principality  itself;  who  should  come  to  the  throne 
supported  by  the  prestige  and  influence  of  some  leading 
European  power,  and  should  thus  be  able,  under  a  wise 
and  liberal  constitution,  to  give  to  the  Principality  a  just 
and  efficient  government  of  law.  To  this  end  their  choice 
seems  to  have  been  wisely  and  happily  directed.  It  fell 
upon  Prince  Charles  of  the  royal  Prussian  family  of  Ho- 
henzollern-Sigmaringen.  Charles  I.,  Prince  of  Rouma- 
nia, was  elected  on  the  14th  of  April,  1866,  and  took  the 
oath  of  office  the  following  July.  The  twelve  years  of 
his  reign  thus  far  are  years  long  to  be  remembered  by 
the  Roumanian  people.  The  reign  of  Prince  Charles  has 
brought  them  a  great  deliverance  in  the  present  and  the 
promise  of  better  things  to  come. 


THE  WALLACHIANS.  ^7 

Roumania  is  one  of  the  richest  and  most  fiuitful,  as  it 
is  also,  in  its  upland  districts,  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
and  delightful  countries  in  Europe.  The  belt  of  country 
stretching  back  for  fifty  or  sixty  miles  from  the  Danube, 
from  the  Iron  Gates  to  the  sea,  is  prairie-like  in  its  char- 
acter, low  and  level,  exuberantly  fertile,  and  mostly  des- 
titute of  wood.  Along  the  Danube,  in  some  localities, 
are  extensive  marshes,  with  islands  and  lagoons.  In 
Wallachia,  this  low  country  stretches  away  in  immense 
and  monotonous  plains,  upon  which  one  may  travel  for 
a  day  together  without  seeing  a  stone  or  a  tree.^  The 
lowlands  of  Moldavia  are  very  different,  and  wholly 
unique  in  their  character.  Forming  an  undulating  steppe, 
covered  with  immense  growths  of  grass  and  cultivated 
crops,  they  are  interspersed  with  innumerable  lakes  and 
ponds,  many  of  which  are  artificial,  formed  by  dams 
upon  the  numerous  streams.  In  ancient  times  these 
lowlands  were  inhabited  by  the  Venedi,  whom  Dr.  Neale 
calls  the  beavers  of  the  human  race.  Their  habit  was 
to  throw  dams  across  their  streams,  so  as  to  flow  the 
marshy  country  above  and  form  large  ponds.  About 
these  ponds  they  fixed  their  dwellings,  feeding  appa- 
rently upon  the  fish  and  wild  fowl  with  which  the  ponds 
were  filled.  This  manner  of  life  has  been  continued  to 
the  present  time  by  the  Moldavian  peasantry,  whose  sim- 
ple dwellings  are  found  clustered  about  the  ponds. 

The  low  country  is  malarious,  and  often  unhealthy  to 
strangers ;  but  having  crossed  it,  we  come  to  the  high- 
land district,  which,  through  the  whole  length  of  the 
Principality,  reaches  back,  northwards  and  westwards,  to 
*  Walsh,  p.  135. 


488  THE  WALLACHTANS. 

the  Carpathian  Mountains.  This  highland  region  is  one 
of  the  most  deHghtful  districts  in  Europe.  It  is  high  and 
salubrious,  a  land  of  forest  and  mountain,  of  verdant 
slopes  and  crystal  streams,  as  rich  in  the  beauty  of  its 
scenery  as  in  the  fruitfulness  of  its  soil. 

The  productions  of  Roumania  are  very  much  like  those 
of  the  valley  of  the  Upper  Mississippi.  Almost  every 
kind  of  grain  and  of  fruit  common  to  the  warmer  dis- 
tricts of  the  Temperate  Zone  grows  here  in  great  luxu- 
riance and  perfection.  Roumania  might  well  be  the  gran- 
ary of'  the  Levant ;  and,  since  foreign  capital  has  given 
the  country  a  system  of  railways  as  an  outlet  for  its  pro- 
ductions, immense  quantities  of  wheat,  maize,  and  other 
grains  are  shipped  annually  upon  the  Danube  for  the 
various  ports  of  Southern  Europe.  Lying,  as  it  does, 
in  the  latitude  of  Lower  Canada,  between  the  Black  Sea 
on  the  east,  the  Balkans  on  the  south,  and  the  Carpa- 
thians on  the  north  and  west,  the  Principality  has  a  cli- 
mate which  is  very  variable,  and  subject  to  great  ex- 
tremes. The  winters  are  long  and  cold,  snow  lies  deep 
upon  the  ground,  and  the  Danube  is  often  frozen  to  a 
great  thickness.  Long  and  destructive  droughts  are  not 
uncommon  in  the  summer,  and  immense  swarms  of  lo- 
custs sometimes  appear,  which  strip  whole  districts  of 
every  green  thing. 

The  face  of  an  old  acquaintance,  met  with  in  a  for- 
eign land,  is  always  interesting,  whether  the  acquaint- 
ance is  pleasant  or  the  contrary.  One  such  acquaint- 
ance we  encounter,  in  company  with  our  friend  Paul  of 
Aleppo,  in  a  delightful  retreat  among  the  mountains  of 
Wallachia.     "  The  liver,"  he  says,  "  is  most  particularly 


THE  WALLACHIANS,  '         489 

revived  by  the  sight  of  these  mountains,  by  the  surround- 
ing verdure,  and  by  the  delicate  eating  of  those  beauti- 
ful fish  called  Bastrovus,  which  exist  only  in  situations 
like  this,  and  live  only  in  waters  rushing  down  from  the 
hills,  feeding  amidst  the  rocks,  and  averse  to  mud  and 
stagnant  depths.  It  resembles  the  fish  Soltan  Ibrahim 
at  Terapolis,  arid  is  prettily  marked  with  red  spots.  Its 
taste  is  fine,  and  superior  in  flavor  to  that  of  roast  .fowl; 
nothing  indeed  can  surpass  it  as  a  delicate  morsel."^ 
Surely  the  gentle  Izaak  himself  could  not  have  angled 
with  a  more  glowing  enthusiasm  for  the  trout  of  those 
mountain  streams.  At  Yassi,  soon  after  his  first  entrance 
into  Moldavia,  the  good  Archdeacon  fell  in  with  another 
acquaintance  of  ours,  from  whose  unwelcome  company 
he  found  it  very  hard  to  escape,  and  of  which  he  speaks 
in  language  to  which  many  an  American  reader  of  these 
pages  can  groan  a  dismal  response.  **  These  terrors, 
these  dreads  and  horrors  which  rushed  upon  us,  .  .  . 
caused  us  grevious  sickness  and  agues,  with  hot  and  cold 
fits,  which  I,  the  poor  historian,  labored  under  from  the 
end  of  July  till  the  following  Whitsuntide ;  and  suffered 
therefrom  intense  pains,  during  the  severity  of  the  winter 
cold  and  frosts."  "The  hot  and  cold  fever  .  .  . 
used  to  come  on  us  every  two  days  twice  or  thrice ;  and 
we  were  helpless  of  any  remedy,  particularly  in  the  sea- 
son of  the  cold  and  ice,  and  during  the  nights.  .  .  , 
Our  eating  was  cut  off  altogether ;  one  draught  of  water 
we  were  compelled  to  allow  ourselves  on  the  mornings 
after  our  fits,  by  thb  burnings  of  our  insides.  We  would 
have  given  "our  souls  for  a  pomegranate  ;  and  at  last  we 

^  Macarius,  ii.  341. 
2I» 


490  •  THE  WALLACHIAJIS. 

saw  some  brought  from  Romelia  at  a  quarter  of  a  dollai 
the  couple."  ^  During  the  winter  one  of  the  Patriarch's 
company  died  of  the  chills  and  fever  taken  at  Yassi. 

In  extent  and  population  the  Principality  of  Rouma- 
nia  is  almost  exactly  equal  to  the  State  of  New  York; 
having  an  area  of  46,808  square  miles  and  an  estimated 
population  of  four  and  a  half  millions.  Besides  the  Wal- 
lachians,  who  constitute  about  four-fifths  of  the  popula- 
tion, there  are  300,000  Gypsies,  274,000  Jews,  45,000 
Roman  Catholics,  29,000  Protestants,  8,000  Armenians, 
and  1,300  Mohammedans.  Bucharest,  the  capital,  has 
a  population  of  122,000,  and  Yassi,  the  capital  of  Molda- 
via, about  90,000.  Galatz,  an  important  shipping  port 
at  the  head  of  the  deep  waters  of  the  Danube,  and  the 
chief  commercial  town  of  the  Principality,  is  a  busy  place, 
filled,  during  certain  seasons  of  the  year,  with  traders 
from  abroad,  and  seeming  to  be  a  much  more  populous 
city  than  it  really  is.  Its  permanent  inhabitants  may 
number  perhaps  20,000.  Giurgevo,  opposite  Rustchuk, 
as  a  railroad  centre  and  military  post,  has  been  a  place 
of  great  importance  during  the  late  war.  A  railway  from 
Giurgevo  to  Bucharest  was  completed  in  1869.  Other 
hues  now  run  from  the  capital  westwards  to  Krajova, 
Turn,  arid  Austria,  and  eastward  to  Moldavia  and  Russia. 

After  the  Crimean  war,  and  before  the  union  of  Wal- 
lachia  and  Moldavia,  when  the  attention  of  Europe  first 
began  to  be  strongly  fixed  upon  the  affairs  of  the  two 
Principalities,  it  very  soon  appeared  that  their  social  and 
political  condition  was  depressed  and  wretched  beyond 
all  parallel  or  comparison.  In  the  strong  language  of  Dr. 
'  Id.,  i.  93,  154. 


THE  WALLACHIANS,  491 

Noyes,  already  cited,  the.  Wallachians  were  the  'worst 
governed  people  in  the  civilized  world.  Scattered  sparse- 
ly over  one  of  the  richest  and  most  fruitful  countries  in 
the  world,  the  Wallachian  peasantry  were  living,  many 
of  them,  in  underground  huts  or  dens,  in  an  utter  squa- 
lidness  of  penury  and  wretchedness  beyond  anything  to 
be  found  in  the  foulest  quarters  of  New  York  or  London/ 
The  selfish,  worthless  boyars  were,  in  effect,  not  the  ab- 
solute masters  alone,  but  the  owners  of  their  estates  and 
everything  on  them.  Of  the  300,000  Gypsies  in  the 
two  Principalities,  250,000  had  been  until  1844  chattel 
slaves — one-half  belonging  to  the  government  and  the 
monasteries,  the  other  half  to  the  boyars  as  house  and  field 
servants.  In  1 844  a  law  was  passed  in  Wallachia  giving 
freedom  to  the  slaves  under  the  control  of  the  govern- 
ment. This  law  had  been  but  very  partially  carried  into 
effect,  while  no  steps  had  been  taken  towards  emancipat- 
ing the  Gypsy  slaves  of  the  boyars.  This  slavery  was 
worse  than  anything  ever  known  in  our  own  Southern 
.States.  The  slave,  in  property,  person,  and  life,  was  ab- 
solutely at  his  master's  mercy.  The  boyars  would  allow 
no  census  of  their  slaves,  would  tolerate  no  interference 
with  their  human  cattle.  The  slaves  were  of  the  same 
color  as  their  masters,  and  many  of  them  beautiful  and 
finely  formed — a  fact  which  led  to  all  sorts  of  illicit  con- 
nections, and  filled  the  boyar  families  with  Gypsy  and 
servile  blood. '^ 

Except  in  the  relations  of  domestic  ,hfe,  the  Wallachian 
peasants  enjoyed  hardly  more  of  freedom  than  the  Gypsy 
slaves.     Formerly,  in  law  as  in  fact,  they  had  been  the 
*  Noyes,  202 ;  Tennent,  ii.  33-45.  *  Noyes,  129-38. 


492  THE  WALLACHIANS, 

serfs  and  slaves  of  the  boyars.  A  law  of  Constantine,  the 
second  Phanariot  Hospodar  of  Wallachia,  had  nominally 
enfranchised  the  Wallachian  serfs ;  but  this  law  had  re- 
mained a  dead  letter,  the  peasant  still  remained  in  help- 
less slavery  to  the  boyars. ^  Bound  thus  hand  and  foot, 
with  no  rights,  no  comforts,  no  ambition,  and  no  hope,  it 
is  not  strange  that  they  remained,  generation  after  gen- 
eration, in  the  same  condition  of  moral  and  social  degra- 
dation. The  women  were  very  industrious  and  diligent, 
but  the  men  were  accounted  the  laziest  mortals  on  the 
face  of  the  earth.  Their  houses,  mere  cellars  usually, 
walled  round  with  clay  and  roofed  with  thatch,  had  but 
one  living  room,  its  floor  the  well-trodden  earth,  a  raised 
divan  of  earth  around  the  sides  its  only  provision  for  seats 
and  beds,  in  which,  crowded  together,  the  whole  family 
lived,  ate,  and  slept.  The  whole  population  was  steeped 
in  ignorance  and  superstition,  while,  as  needs  must  be  in 
such  a  state  of  things,  there  was  too  much  of  profligacy 
and  vice.  In  this  respect,  however,  there  was  a  marked 
difference  between  the  people  of  the  plains  and  those  of 
the  hills.  No  sooner  had  Dr.  Walsh  risen  from  the 
plains  to  the  wooded,  breezy,  and  healthful  uplands,  than 
he  found  the  people,  though  still  living  in  the  same  sub- 
terranean huts,  more  comfortable,  more  cheerful,  and 
more  free  spirited.'^ 

Bucharest  was  a  city  of  wonderful  and  painful  con- 
trasts. It  spread  over  a  great  extent  of  country,  and 
the  better  class  of  houses,  built  of  brick  and  stuccoed, 
were  surrounded  by  pleasant  gardens.  From  the  days 
of  the  old  Phanariot  Hospodars  of  the  last  century,  it 
*  Tennent,  ii.  40-1.  *  Narrative,  &c,  p.  139. 


THE  WALLACHIANS.  493 

had  possessed  very  fair  schools,  which  had  given  society 
something  of  culture  and  refinement.  There  was  a  great 
taste  for  French  literature,  French  manners,  and  French 
cookery.  But  the  streets,  mere  filthy  cesspools  bridged 
over  loosely  with  timber  pavements,  were  much  of  the 
time  in  a  horrible  condition ;  ^  and  side  by  side  with  the 
shabby  gentility,  the  tattered,  flaunting  pomp  of  the 
boyars,  were  the  wretched  huts  of  the  Gypsies  and  peas- 
ants, the  abodes  of  such  poverty,  and  filth,  and  misery 
as  could  be  found  in  no  other  capital  in  Europe.  In  no 
class  of  the  Roumanian  people,  whether  high  or  low,  was 
there  anything  of  intelligence,  or  patriotism,  or  public 
spirit,  or  large-hearted  philanthopy,  or  elevation  of  char- 
acter. This  miserable  social  and  political  condition  of 
the  Roumanian  people  was  the  result,  not  of  any  lack  of 
natural  endowments,  or  of  native  fitness  for  better  things, 
but  of  their  unfortunate  circumstances,  and  the  grinding 
tyranny  to  which  for  ages  they  had  been  exposed.  Nat- 
urally they  are  a  fine  and  capable  race,  vigorous  and 
well  formed,  vivacious  and  cheerful,  full  of  poetry  and 
song.*  It  was  long  ago  evident  that  they  needed  but  a 
fair  measure  of  freedom,  justice,  and  good  government  to 
enable  them  to  rise  gradually  from  their  depressed  and 
miserable  condition,  and  take  their  places  side  by  side 
and  on  equal  terms  with  the  most  favored  peoples  of 
Eastern  Europe. 

In  a  good  degree  this  great  want  has  been  met  by  the 

'  Walsh,  p.  136. 

*  The  Wallachs  are  strikingly  unlike  their  Slavonian  neighbors.  The 
war  correspondents  speak  of  them  as  a  gentle  and  delicate  race,  almost  femi- 
nine in  their  physical  aspects  and  cast  of  countenance.  All  agree,  however, 
that  they  are  well  developed,  vigorous,  and  finely  formed. 


494  THE  WALLACHIANS. 

government  of  Prince  Charles.  During  these  twelve 
years  the  Roumanian  people,  for  the  first  time  in  all 
their  history,  have  known  something  of  the  blessings  of 
freedom  and  good  government.  Prince  Charles  is  a 
Prussian  soldier,  well  prepared  by  his  early  training  for 
the  position  he  holds.  A  man  of  unquestioned  energy 
and  ability,  he  seems  also  to  be  Hberal  in  his  views,  honest 
and  upright.  He  appears  to  have  given  himself  to  the 
duties  of  his  most  difficult  and  responsible  position  with 
a  heart  thoroughly  in  his  work,  earnestly  devoted  to  the 
welfare  of  his  adopted  country.  His  government  is  a 
government  of  law.  The  constitution  of  the  consolidated 
Principality  appears  to  be  liberal  and  wise.  It  provides 
for  a  Senate  and  Chamber  of  Deputies,  and  gives  the 
right  of  suffrage  to  every  taxpayer.  The  voters,  how- 
ever, are  arranged  in  four  classes.  The  lowest  of  the  four 
classes,  which  includes  the  Gypsy  voters,  does  not  vote 
directly  for  members  of  the  national  legislature,  but  ex- 
ercises its  franchise  indirectly  through  electors.  Liberty 
of  conscience,  of  the  press,  and  of  public  meetings  is  as- 
sured, and  public  instruction  is  made  obligatory. 

Of  the  working  of  this  constitution  for  the  past  twelve 
years,  and  the  present  condition  of  society  in  the  Princi- 
pality, the  information  before  the  public  is  far  less  full 
and  satisfactory  than  we  could  desire.  The  essential 
character  of  a  people  cannot  be  wholly  transformed,  evils 
and  abuses  under  which  they  have  groaned  for  ages 
cannot  be  entirely  outgrown  and  thrown  off,  in  the  short 
space  of  twelve  years.  But  we  know  enough  of  what 
has  been  transpiring  in  Roumania  to  see  clearly  that  even 
in  this  brief  period  the  change  in  the  condition  of  the 


THE  WALLACHIANS.  /^ 

Wallachians  has  been  rapid  and  very  great.  They  have 
begun  to  breathe  the  air  of  freedom,  to  tread  with  the 
firm  step  and  manly  bearing  of  free  men.  The  law  en- 
forcing public  education  has  not  been  a  dead  letter.  A 
multitude  of  schools  have  been  established,  and  the  same 
intense  eagerness  for  learning  which  has  been  manifest 
among  the  Greeks,  the  Servians,  and  the  Bulgarians,  is 
steadily  pervading  the  whole  body  of  the  populatioi;. 

Of  the  state  of  religion  and  the  Church  in  Roumania 
there  is  little  of  an  encouraging  character  to  be  said. 
The  Wallachians  are  all  of  the  Greek  communion,  and 
in  neither  intellectual  nor  moral  character  do  their  clergy 
differ  essentially  from  their  brethren  south  of  the  Dan- 
ube. The  progress  of  society  is  rather  in  spite  of  the 
Church  than  by  its  aid  and  under  its  leadership. 

In  nothing  else,  perhaps,  is  the  improved  condition  of 
the  Roumanian  people  so  strikingly  apparent  as  in  their 
military  spirit  and  their  strong  and  growing  feeling  of 
patriotic  devotion  to  their  country.  Prince  Charles 
found  his  people  a  spiritless  and  servile  race,  who,  ten 
years  before,  had  been  as  destitute  of  all  soldierly  qual- 
ities as  of  moral  elevation  and  true  patriotism.  In  the 
great  struggle  of  1 877  he  led  to  the  field  an  army  of  sixty 
thousand  soldiers,  thoroughly  disciplined  and  prepared, 
who  in  manly  bearing,  courage,  endurance,  and  all  mar- 
tial qualities,  did  not  suffer  in  comparison  with  any  other 
class  of  the  combatants  in  that  memorable  war.  In  that 
terrible  assault  which  carried,  and  In  the  desperate  valor 
which  held,  the  Gravitza  redoubt  at  Plevna,  on  the  nth 
of  September,  1877,  the  stain  of  cowardice  was  forever 
wiped  away  from  the  Wallachian  name.     Prince  Charles 


22 


496  THE  WALLACHIAhTS, 

is  pre-eminently  a  soldier;  and  during  all  the  eleven  years 

of  his  administration  his  energies  had  been  steadily  di- 
rected to  prepare  his  principality  for  the  great  struggle 
which  he  saw  was  sure  to  come.  •  For  he  and  his  people 
believed,  as  they  had  the  right  to  believe,  that  the  time 
was  near  at  hand  when  they  and  their  fellow  Christians 
south  of  the  Danube  should  be  forever  freed  from  bond- 
age i:o  the  Turk.  With  kindling  patriotism,  therefore, 
the  Prince's  subjects  seconded  his  endeavors ;  and  when 
the  war  came  it  found  him  with  a  regular  army  of  56,000 
men,  thoroughly  disciplined  and  fully  armed  and  equip- 
ped, and  with  a  militia  force  of  100,000  men  also  ready 
for  the  field.*  And  we  are  told  by  those  well  qualified 
to  judge,  that  in  courage  and  endurance  the  militia  were 
fully  equal  to  their  brethren  of  the  regular  army.  This 
patriotic  devotion  of  the  Prince  and  his  v  people  has  had 
its  reward.  By  the  Treaty  of  Berlin  the  full  independ- 
ence of  the  Principality  has  been  acknowledged,  and 
henceforth  Roumania  is  free. 

The  circumstance  which  has  attracted  public  attention 
most  painfully  to  affairs  in  the  Principality  during  the 
past  few  years  has  been  the  great  oppression  to  which 
the  Roumanian  Jews  have  been  subjected,  partly  by  the 
Roumanian  authorities,  and  partly  by  fanatical  outburst** 
among  the  people.  Almost  precisely  the  same  state  of 
things  exists  in  Servia;  and  the  statements  about  to  Ix"- 
made  respecting  the  Roumanian  Jews  would  apply  with 

^  War  Correspondence  London  Daily  News,  i.  73-87,  484;  ii.  206. — 
London  Mail,  September  17,  1877.  The  numbers  in  the  text  are  those 
given  by  the  War  Correspondence  of  the  News.  The  correspondent  of  the 
London  Times  puts  them  considerably  lower. 


THE  WALLACHIANS,  497 

nearly  equal  force  to  the  sister  Principality.'  The  Rou- 
manian Jews  number  about  275,000  souls.  They  are  not 
citizens,  live  in  the  country  as  aliens  and  sojourners,  and 
are  accused  by  the  Wallachians  of  "  incivism,"  that  is,  of 
having  no  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  state.  Yet  their 
position  in  society  is  a  very  important  one.  They  consti- 
tute almost  the  only  middle  class.  "  All  the  butchers  of 
Vassi  are  Jews,"  ^  and  everywhere  they  are  the  traders, 
hucksters,  and  usurers  of  society.  They  are  keen, 
shrewd,  and  well  instructed-— many  of  them  speaking  four 
or  five  different  languages — patient,  frugal,  and  indus- 
trious.^ They  add  nothing  to  the  burdens  of  society,  take 
part  in  no  disorders  or  disturbances,  and  are  every  way 
useful  members  of  society.  The  only  trouble  with  them 
has  been  that  they  were  too  shrewd  and  too  prosperous. 
Craftsmen  of  other  races  could  not  compete  with  them, 
and  they  had  become  a  creditor  class.  This  has  produced 
a  great  outcry  against  them,  and  drawn  down  upon  them 
much  legal  oppression  and  much  popular  violence.  But, 
as  Lord  Strangford  points  out,  this  is  an  evil  which  i^ 
rapidly  passing  away  with  all  the  abuses  of  an  evil  past. 
With  the  progress  of  intelligence  and  the  formation  of  a 
true  middle  class,  the  Jews  are  ceasing  to  hold  their 
peculiar  position,  and  the  popular  sentiment  against  them 
is  steadily  dying  out.  The  time  is  not  far  distant  when, 
in  Roumania  as  in  our  own  country,  the  Jews  will  be  en- 
dowed with  the  common  rights,  and  lost  in  the  common 
mass,  of  prosperous  and  well  ordered  citizens. 

As  I  close  this  chapter,*  I  read  the  words  addressed  by 

*  Viscount  Strangford,  i.  246-50.  "  Noyes,  p.  124. 

«  Id.,  i.  258-64.  ♦  July  19,  1878. 


498  THE  WALLACHIANS, 

Prince  Charles  to  the  assembled  representatives  of  his 
people,  in  view  of  the  great  events  of  the  past  few  weeks : 
"  We  will  so  conduct  ourselves  as  to  show  that  we  de- 
served better  of  the  Congress  of  Berlin."^  Significant 
words,  expressing  the  manly  trust  of  a  brave  and  true- 
hearted  Prince  in  a  brave  and  loyal  people.  Let  us  hope 
that  these  words  may  prove  prophetic  of  the  prosperity 
and  well-being  of  the  Roumanian  people ;  of  their  steady 
and  long-continued  advancement  in  that  career  of  pro- 
gress and  improvement  upon  which  they  have  so  auspi- 
ciously entered. 

*  Referring  to  the  enforced  retrocession  of  Bessarabia  to  Russia. 


CHAPTER  X 


THE     GYPSIES. > 

Of  the  seven  or  eight  hundred  thousand  Gypsies  sup- 
posed to  be  living  at  the  present  time  in  Europe,  more 
than  half,  probably,  are  found  in  the  valley  of  the  Dan- 
ube. And,  while  in  most  of  the  other  European  coun- 
tries they  are  mere  outcasts  and  wandering  vagabonds, 
too  few  in  number  and  too  entirely  disconnected  from 
the  settled  population  to  be  of  much  importance,  in  the 
Danubian  provinces  they  are  so  numerous,  so  firmly  fixed 
upon  the  soil,  have  made  their  influence  so  strongly  felt 
in  society,  that  they  cannot  be  passed  without  notice  in 
our  survey  of  the  races  of  European  Turkey.  The  val- 
ley of  the  Danube  seems  to  have  been  the  starting  point 
of  the  Gypsies  in  their  European  wanderings ;  and  here, 
so  fai  as  numbers  are  concerned,  they  have  been  for  four 
hundred  years  an  important  element  of  the  population. 
Dr.  Noyes  reckons  the  Gypsies  of  Roumania  at  300,000 ; 
in  Transylvania,  according  to  Mr.  Boner,  they  number 
78,000  ;  Dr.  Forsyth  puts  the  Gypsies  of  Servia  at  24,607, 
and  those  of  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  at  9,537  ;  while  of 

^  Noyes'  Roumania,  pp.  129-38 ;  Brace's  Races  of  the  Old  World,  pp. 
401-4;  "The  History  and  Language  of  the  Gypsies,"  by  Professor  Pas- 
pati  of  Constantinople,  Journal  of  the  American  Oriental  Society,  vol.  viL ; 
"  Origin  and  Wanderings  of  the  Gypsies,"  Edinburgh  Review,  July,  iSyi- 


500  THE  GYPSIES, 

the  large  Gypsy  population  of  Bulgaria  I  have  seen  no 
estimate.  According  to  these  figures,  the  Gypsies  of 
the  whole  valley  of  the  Danube,  from  Vienna  to  the  sea, 
cannot  amount  to  less  than  half  a  million  of  souls.  It  has 
been  supposed  that  there  may  be  five  millions  of  Gypsies 
in  the  world. 

The  indications  are  that  the  Gypsies  entered  Europe 
through  Southern  Russia  and  Moldavia,  in  some  loose 
connection  with  the  Tartars  of  the  Golden  Horde,  and 
under  the  shadow  of  the  Khans  of  Serai.  Before  the 
year  1350  their  roving  bands  seem  to  have  scattered 
themselves  through  Moldavia,  Wallachia,  and  Bulgaria, 
where  many  of  them  were  seized  and  reduced  to  a  most 
miserable  slavery  by  the  cruel  Wallach  and  Bulgarian 
nobles.  In  the  year  141 7  a  horde  of  Gypsies  made  their 
appearance  in  north-western  Germany,  claiming  to  be 
Christian  pilgrims  from  "  Little  Egypt."  Their  thievish, 
vagabond  character  was  soon  manifest,  and  they  were 
driven  away  to  begin  their  perpetual  wanderings  through 
every  European  country. 

The  claim  to  an  Egyptian  origin,  set  up  for  their  own 
advantage  by  these  strange  wanderers,  was  so  consonant 
with  their  whole  appearance  and  manner  of  life  that  for 
a  long  time  it  was  popularly  accepted.  This  appears  in 
their  name,  which  is  evidently  but  a  vulgarized  form  of 
Egyptians.  No  sooner,  however,  had  some  knowledge  of 
their  language  been  acquired,  than  this  position  was  found 
to  be  wholly  untenable.  The  discovery  of  this  fact  only 
added  to  the  curiosity  of  scholars  as  to  the  origin  and  eth- 
nical relations  of  this  remarkable  race.  Much  learning  was 
expended  upon  the  question,  carefuJ  investigations  were 


THE  GVPSIES.  501 

made  in  different  countries,  notably  by  M.  de  Gobineau 
in  Persia,  and  various  theories  were  proposed.  The  final 
solution  of  the  problem,  however,  was  reserved  for  the 
science  of  philology  in  our  own  times.  Among  the  many 
curious  and  important  revelations  for  which  we  are  in- 
debted to  this  youngest  of  the  sciences — the  comparative 
study  of  the  languages  of  mankind — ^has  been  the  unex- 
pected discovery  that  the  Gypsies  are  really  an  offshoot 
from  the  Hindu  race,  being  nothing  else  than  a  wander- 
ing tribe  from  the  valley  of  the  Indus.  This  fact  is  proved 
by  their  language,  which  is  a  branch  of  the  ancient  San- 
scrit, akin  to  the  modern  dialects  of  Northern  India.  Sir 
Henry  Sleeman,  in  his  exceedingly  valuable  and  instruct- 
ive work  on  India,  observes  that  the  Gypsies  are  probably 
the  descendants  of  the  multitudes  of  Hindus  driven  from 
their  homes  by  the  various  Tartar  invaders ;  and  that  the 
Gypsy  language  so  closely  resembles  the  dialects  of , 
Northern  India  that  a  modern  Hindu  could  probably 
make  himself  understood  by  any  tribe  of  Gypsies  in 
Europe.^  Other  writers  suggest  that  they  may  have  been 
a  nomadic,  plundering  tribe  before  these  invasions  drove 
them  from  India.  The  probabilities  are  that  the  Gypsies 
were  driven  from  India  by  Mahmoud  the  Gaznevide, 
whose  reign  is  reckoned  from  997  to  1028.^ 

All  things  considered,  we  must  regard  the  Gypsies  as 
the  most  singular  and  remarkable  people  to  be  found  on 
the  globe.     Without  history,  or  traditions,  or  religion,  or 

'  **  Rambles  and  Recollections  of  an  Indian  Official,"  ii.  298.  The  Gyp- 
sies seem  to  be  directly  connected  with  the  Jats,  a  Hindii  tribe  still  numerout 
in  the  regions  of  the  Lower  Indus. — Edinburgh  Review,  July,  1878,  p.  69. 

«  *«  The  Arabs  and  the  Turks,"  p.  70. 


502  THE  GYPSIES, 

literature,  or  written  language;  with  nothing  to  bind 
them  together  but  the  indelible,  unchangeable  strain  of 
their  savage  blood,  they  display  a  pertinacity  of  race  sur- 
passing that  of  the  Jews.  Everywhere  present, .  from 
Persia  to  Ireland,  and  from  Siberia  to  Central  Africa,  and 
everywhere  oppressed,  outcast,  and  despised,  they  have 
always  kept  their  race  separate  and  distinct  with  a  rigid 
exclusiveness  to  which  probably  no  parallel  can  be  found. 
From  the  Arctic  Circle  to  the  Equator,  with  some  rare 
and  partial  exceptions,  in  language,  in  physical  peculiar- 
ities, in  their  social  and  moral  character,  in  their  pursuits 
and  habits  of  life,  they  are  everywhere  essentially  the 
same.  With  difference  in  climate  there  appears  little  dif- 
ference in  their  color  and  complexion;  change  in  food 
and  outward  circumstances  works  little  variation  in  their 
physical  type  and  peculiarities ;  they  remain  uninfluenced 
by  the  civilization  or  barbarism  of  the  people  among 
whom  they  sojourn.  Until  recently,  no  form  of  civil 
polity,  of  civilization,  or  of  religion  has  ever  been  able  to 
obtain  any  effective  and  permanent  hold  upon  them,  or 
to  redeem  them  from  their  degraded  and  savage  condi- 
tion. 

The  only  mechanical  pursuit  for  which  they  show  any 
aptitude  is  that  of  the  smith.  In  this  they  sometimes  ex- 
cel ;  and  in  Persia  there  have  been  Gypsies  who  were 
eminent  for  their  skill  as  workers  in  gold  and  silver. 
Usually  they  are  farriers  and  horse-jockeys  ;  sometimes, 
under  favorable  circumstances,  they  do  a  larger  business 
as  dealers  in  live  stock.  A  few  Gypsies,  chiefly  in  Rus- 
sia, have  accumulated  wealth ;  but  most  of  them,  in  all 
lands,  have  been  the  same  worthless,  poverty-stricken 


THE  GYPSIES.  SQ3 

vagabonds  which  they  usually  appear.  The  men  are 
horse-jockeys  and  pilferers,  the  old  women  tell  fortunes, 
and  the  young  women  sing  love  songs,  decent  and  in- 
decent, in  the 'public  streets.  They  have  no  principles, 
no  religion,  serve  no  God  but  the  God  of  gain  and  fraud. 
They  have  no  word  in  their  language  for  God,  or  for  im- 
mortality. Outwardly,  however,  and  for  their  own  ad- 
vantage, they  are  ready  to  adopt  any  religion  as  cir- 
cumstances may  require.  They  make  a  trade  of  exciting 
and  pandering  to  the  licentious  passions  of  others,  yet 
are  themselves,  in  some  countries  at  least,  rigidly  chaste. 
It  is  said  that  a  merciless  death  hangs  over  the  Gypsy 
woman  who  forms  an  unlawful  connection  with  any  man, 
whether  Gypsy  or  stranger.  They  have  a  wild  weird 
music  of  their  own,  in  which,  in  some  countries  (particu- 
larly in  Hungary),  they  are  very  proficient,  and  which  is 
not  destitute  of  beauty  and  power.^  Their  language  has 
no  alphabet  and  no  literature,  except  a  few  miserable 
songs  which  are  passed  from  mouth  to  mouth.  They 
cling  with  a  passionate  and  invincible  attachment  to  their 
wild  anti  lawless  Hfe,  and  guard  with  jealous  exclusiveness 
the  language  and  secret  legends  of  their  race.  They 
always  converse  with  strangers  in  the  vernacular  of  the 
people  among  whom  they  dwell ;  and  it  has  been  with 
the  greatest  difficulty  that  scholars  have  succeeded  in 
discovering  the  true  character  of  their  native  tongue. 
There  is  not  wanting  among  them  a  kind  of  wild  and 
savage  dignity  and  independence  of  character;  and  a 
female  leader  or  Gypsy  queen  will    sometimes  be  met 

^  Some  of  the  greatest  masters  of  the  violin  ever  known  are  found  among 
the  Gypsies  of  Hungary  and  Bohemia. 


504  THE  GYPSIES. 

with  in  their  encampments  who  displays  a  majesty  oi 
demeanoi  worthy  of  a  Gypsy  throne. 

The  condition  of  the  Gypsies  in  the  valley  of  the  Da- 
nube is  in  some  respects  peculiar,  and  very  different  in 
the  several  countries.  In  Servia,  the  leveling  power  of 
Turkish  rule,  exerted  for  successive  ages,  had  the  effect 
Df  elevating  the  Gypsies  somewhat  towards  the  social 
status  of  the  other  rayahs.  Here,  therefore,  although 
they  are  still  an  inferior  caste,  and  not  allowed  to  exer- 
cise the  rights  and  powers  of  citizenship,  the  Gypsies  are 
perhaps  less  widely  separated  from  the  peasantry  around 
them  than  anywhere  else  in  Europe.  They  fought  bravely 
with  their  Servian  neighbors  against  the  Turks,  and  as 
smiths,  farriers,  and  dealers  in  live  stock,  have  many  of 
them  earned  a  comfortable  livelihood,  and  proved  them- 
selves respectable  members  of  society. 

The  circumstances  of  the  hundred  thousand  Gypsies 
in  Transylvania  and  the  Banat  are  also  somewhat  pe- 
culiar. In  1768,  the  Empress  Queen  Maria  Theresa, 
moved  by  the  miserable  condition  and  lawless  character 
of  so  large  a  class  of  her  people,  promulgated  a  law  that 
the  Gypsies  of  Hungary  and  Transylvania  should  cease 
from  their  wandering  life,  should  become  settled  in  per- 
manent habitations,  and  earn  their  livelihood  by  some 
industrial  occupation.  This  law  remained  inoperative 
until  1782,  when  the  Emperor  Joseph  H.  adopted  more 
strenuous  measures  to  carry  it  into  effect.  The  Gypsies 
were  to  be  settled  as  New  Peasants,  in  the  enjoyment  of 
a  modified  form  of  citizenship,  and  under  a  Voivide  of 
their  own.  These  measures  resulted  in  a  parti&l,  though 
but  very  partial,  success.     It  is  to  be  hoped,  however 


THE  GYPSIES  505 

that  what  has  been  already  achieved  in  this  direction  may 
prove  the  beginning  of  a  movement  which  will  lead  to 
more  satisfactory  results  in  the  future. 

The  equalizing  effects  of  Turkish  despotism  in  Servia 
and  the  philanthropic  measures  of  the  Austro- Hungarian 
government  in  Hungary  and  Transylvania  have  made  the 
condition  of  the  Gypsies  somewhat  more  favorable  and 
hopeful  in  these  countries  than  in  the  other  states  of  Eu- 
rope. On  the  other  hand,  it  is  probable  that,  until  the 
accession  of  Prince  Charles,  the  Roumanian  Gypsies  were 
more  terribly  oppressed,  sunk  to  a  lower  depth  of  poverty, 
wretchedness,  and  degradation,  than  any  other  part  of 
their  race,  in  any  other  region  of  the  world.  The  great 
majority  of  the  Roumanian  Gypsies  were  slaves,  held  in 
a  rigor  of  bondage  which  has  never  been  surpassed ; 
slaves  with  no  rights,  no  protection,  and  no  hope ;  mere 
human  cattle  of  whom  their  cruel,  selfish  owners  would 
suffer  no  census  to  be  taken.  So  long  and  relentless  had 
this  servitude  been,  that  many  of  the  Gypsy  slaves  had 
forgotten  their  own  language,  and  been  effectually  sep- 
arated from  their  race.  This  fact  may  perhaps  prove 
some  compensation  to  their  children  for  the  ages  of  op- 
pression under  which  they  have  groaned.  The  social 
condition  of  the  free  Gypsies  of  Wallachia  and  Moldavia 
was  hardly  to  be  preferred  to  that  of  the  Gypsy  slaves. 
They  were  living,  many  of  them,  in  an  utter  squalidness  of 
wretchedness  and  poverty, 'of  nakedness  and  filth,  deeper 
and  lower  than  that  of  the  lowest  and  most  wretched 
Wallachian  peasants.  With  the  happiest  results,  how- 
ever, the  Wallachian  Gypsies  have  been  emancipated, 
and  all  taxpayers  among  them  are  allowed  to  vote. 

22 


S06  THE  GYPSIES, 

What  hope  or  promise  there  is  in  the  future  for  such 
a  race  as  this  it  is  difficult  to  say.  It  may  be  that  in 
the  uniformity  and  completeness  of  the  degrading  op- 
pression to  which  all  the  lower  classes  in  Roumania  have 
been  subjected,  there  is  hope  for  the  Gypsies,  and  hope 
for  all.  It  may  be  that,  rising  from  their  low  estate,  under 
the  genial  influence  of  freedom  and  good  government, 
Gypsies  and  Wallachs  may  rise  together  to  the  enjoy- 
ment of  a  common  citizenship  in  a  free  and  prosperous 
country.  It  may  be  that  this  is  the  beginning  of  a 
movement  which  will  gradually  extend  into  other  lands, 
until  the  great  body  of  the  Gypsies  throughout  the  civil- 
ized world,  subsiding  gradually  into  a  quiet  and  settled 
life,  will  at  length  become  merged  and  lost  in  the  mass 
of  the  common  people.  Let  us  hope  at  least  that  so  it 
may  be. 


CHAPTER    XI. 


THE  CONGRESS  OF  BERLIN. 

While  the  previous  chapters  of  this  volume  have  been 
going  through  the  press,  events  have  occurred  by  which 
the  present  condition  and  the  prospects  for  the  future 
of  the  races  of  European  Turkey  have  been  suddenly 
and  wonderfully  changed.  As  the  Congress  of  Berlin,  in 
whatever  aspect  we  view  it,  must  be  considered  as  one 
of  the  great  events  of  the  present  age,  so  the  Treaty 
formed  by  that  Congress,  and  now  ratified  and  established 
by  the  Ottoman  government,  and  by  all  the  leading 
Powers  of  Europe,  marks  the  greatest  era  in  the  history 
of  European  Turkey  since  the  taking  of  Constantinople 
by  Mohammed  II.  in  1453.  That  treaty  has  gone  far 
towards  lifting  the  yoke  of  the  Turks  forever  from  the 
necks  of  their  Christian  subjects  in  Europe.  At  the  same 
time  comes  to  us  the  announcement  of  another  Treaty, 
hardly  less  important,  by  which  England  assumes  posses- 
sion of  the  Island  of  Cyprus,  and  a  protectorate,  with 
efficient  governmental  control,  over  the  Turkish  domin- 
ions in  Asia. 

In  view  of  these  facts,  a  brief  survey  of  the  events  which 
led  to  the  assembling  of  the  Congress  of  Berlin,  and  of 
the  great  changes  which  the  action  of  that  Congress  has 


$oS  THE     ONCRESS  OF  BERLIN, 

effected  in  the  several  provinces  of  European  Turkey,  will 
form  an  appropriate  close  to  the  present  volume. 

These  movements  began  with  the  insurrection  in  Her- 
zegovina and  Bosnia,  in  the  spring  and  summer  of  1875. 
This  insurrection  was  simply  the  turning  to  bay  of  the 
Christian  peasantry,  driven  desperate  by  the  unmeasured 
tyranny  and  extortion,  first,  of  their  own  Greek  bishops ;  ^ 
second,  of  their  Mussulman  landlords ;  and  thirdly,  and 
at  that  time  more  particularly,  of  the  farmers  of  the  taxes, 
who  came  in  to  take  the  little  that  the  others  had  left* 
The  Christians,  although  forming  the  large  majority  of 
the  population,^  were  unarmed  and  accustomed  to  sub- 
mit. The  Mohammedans,  all  of  them,  like  the  Christians, 
of  Slavonian  blood,  were  poor,  ignorant,  fanatical,  and 
lawless,  fully  armed,  regarding  the  rayahs  with  contempt, 
and  ready  for  any  excess.  The  Turkish  officials  were 
not  so  much  unjust  as  indifferent  and  powerless  Having 
no  regular  force  at  their  command,  they  could  onl)'  accept 
the  services  of  an  irregular  bandit  soldiery,  the  terrible 
bashi  bazouks,  and  leave  the  Christian  insurgents  to  their 
tender  mercies.  Very  soon,  however,  the  tables  were 
turned.  The  Montenegrins  came  to  the  help  of  the  in- 
surgent Christians,  with  arms,  leaders,  and  a  strong  force 
of  their  own  heroic  mountaineers ;  and  gathering  courage 

^  A  set  of  Phanariot  harpies  from  Constantinople,  who  did  not  know  the 
language  of  their  Slavonian  flocks,  and  whose  only  aim  was  to  wring  from 
them  the  largest  possible  amount  of  money. — See  Edinburgh  Review  for 
October,  1876,  p.  281. 

*  See  an  able  Consular  Report,  giving  a  history  of  the  insurrection  to 
the  end  of  1875,  in  the  London  Mail  for  December  15,  1875. 

3  The  Christians  of  the  two  provinces  were  reckoned  at  762,259 ;  tha 
Mohammedans  at  442,050.— Forsyth,  p.  86. 


THE  CONGRESS  OF  BERLIN,  509 

from  experience  and  success,  the  rayahs  were  very  soon 
masters  of  the  situation.  In  the  course  of  the  summer 
the  movement  spread  throughout  the  two  provinces,  and 
at  the  end  of  1875  there  were  twelve  thousand  Christians 
in  arms,  a.  force  which,  in  the  face  of  the  aroused  public 
sentiment  of  Europe,  could  not  be  suppressed. 

In  May,  1876,  came  the  rising  in  Bulgaria,  a  move- 
ment of  a  very  different  character.  The  Bulgarians,  a 
frugal,  industrious,  patient,  and  peaceable  race,  never, 
under  any  circumstances,  inclined  to  armed  resistance,  at 
this  time  had  been  freed  from  the  tyranny  of  Greek  eccle- 
siastics,^ and,  excepting  the  burdens  of  increased  taxation, 
were  living  in  comparative  comfort  and  prosperity.  The 
rising  of  May,  1876,  did  not  spring  up  upon  the  soil;  it 
was  the  work  of  a  Committee,  with  its  headquarters  at 
Bucharest  It  seems  clear  from  the  reports  of  Mr.  Bar- 
ing and  Eugene  Schuyler  ^  that  the  terrible  scenes  which 
followed  were  the  result,  in  great  measure,  of  panic  ter- 
ror on  both  sides.  The  Bucharest  Committee,  having 
persuaded  the  poor  Bulgarian  peasants  that  they  were 
about  to  be  massacred  by  the  Turks,  and  that  it  was 
necessary  that  they  should  rise  for  their  own  preservation, 
laid  down  their  programme  of  slaughter  and  burning,  and 
induced  the  peasants  of  two  or  three  insignificant  villages 
to  take  arms  and  to  destroy  such  Mussulmans  as  were 
within  their  reach.  This  movement,  weak  and  foolish  as 
it  was,  filled  the  Turks  with  wrath  and  fear.  A  regular 
force  of  a  thousand  men,  sent  promptly  to  the  scene  of 
the  disturbance,  would  at  once  have  restored  order.    With 

*  See  above,  p.  456. 

■  See  Edinburgh  and  London  Quarterly  Reviews  for  October,  1876^ 


510  THE  CCNGRESS  OF  BERLm. 

wicked  indifference  the  Grand  Vizier  refused  to  send  this 
force ;  the  bashi  bazouks  were  let  loose,  and  then  followed 
those  awful  atrocities  which  curdled  the  blood  of  the  civ- 
ilized world,  which  effectually  cut  off  from  the  Turks  all 
sympathy  and  help,  and  left  them  to  meet,  single-handed 
and  alone,  the  mortal  struggle  which  evidently  was  just 
before  them. 

At  the  beginning  of  July,  1876,  the  Servians  declared 
war  upon  the  Turks,  and  began  that  ill-starred  and  dis- 
astrous campaign  which,  but  for  the  interference  of  the 
European  Powers,  would  have  ended  in  their  complete 
subjugation.  This  war,  it  is  now  clear,  was  not  so  much 
a  national  movement  under  Servian  leaders  as  the  work 
of  outside- agitators,  like  the  insurrection  in  Bulgaria.  It 
was  led  and  controlled  by  a  crowd  of  Russian  adven- 
turers,^ who  despised  and  abused  the  Servians,  and  be- 
tween whom  and  the  Servian  soldiers  there  was  from  the 
beginning  a  deep  antipathy,  which  grew  as  the  war  went 
on,  into  a  bitter,  too  often  a  deadly,  hatred.  We  are  told 
that  "  a  Servian  regiment  went  into  battle  at  Alexinatz 
with  twenty-two  Russian  officers,  of  whom  only  four 
came  out  alive,  and  all  those  who  were  found  on  the  field 
were  shot  in  the  back,"  that  is,  by  Servian  bullets.* 
These  facts,  with  the  youth  and  inefficiency  of  Prince 
Milan,  are  quite  enough  to  explain  the  complete  failure 
of  the  Servian  campaign. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  autumn  of  1876,  the  state  of 

^  In  the  autumn  of  1876,  there  were  from  fifteen  to  twenty  thousand 
Russians  in  the  Servian  army.  General  Tchernaieff,  the  Commander-in 
chief,  was  a  Russian. 

■  London  Quarterly  Review  for  October,  1876,  p.  302. 


THE  CONGRESS  OF  BERLIN  Jii 

things  in  European  Turkey  was  such  as  to  engage  the  most 
serious  attention  of  every  government  of  Europe.  There 
was  no  hope  that  the  Turkish  authorities  could  ever  rem- 
edy the  anarchy  and  terrorism  which  filled  the  northern 
provinces ;  the  sympathy  of  the  Russian  people  in  behalf 
of  their  Slavonian  kindred  had  been  roused  to  the  highest 
pitch  of  intensity,  and  the  government  of  St.  Petersburg 
found  it  almost  impossible  to  resist  the  popular  demand 
for  an  instant  declaration  of  war.  The  time  had  evidently 
come  when  it  was  necessary  that  the  Powers  should  in- 
tervene, not  simply  to  restore  order  in  European  Turkey, 
but  to  preserve  the  peace  of  Europe. 

Under  these  circumstances,  it  was  proposed  that  a 
Conference  of  the  Great  Powers  should  be  held  at  Con- 
stantinople, for  the  purpose  of  giving  to  the  disturbed 
provinces  a  permanent  and  efficient  government,  under 
the  guarantee  and  subject  to  the  supervision  of  the  Pow- 
ers. To  this  proposition,  with  an  ill  grace  and  very 
reluctantly,  the  Turks  gave  their  consent,  and  the  Confer- 
ence met  on  the  lOtfi  of  December.  It  very  soon  ap- 
peared, however,  that  the  heads  of  the  Turks  had  been 
turned  by  their  successes  in  Servia,  and  that  they  would 
make  no  important  concessions.  One  proposal  of  the 
Conference  after  another  was  rejected,  until,  on  the  15th 
of  January,  1877,  it  presented  its  ultimatum  to  the  Porte,* 
with  the  distinct  announcement,  that  if  this  proposition 
should  not  be  accepted,  the  members  of  the  Conference 

^  This  final  demand  was,  that  the  governors  of  the  disturbed  provinces 
should  be  appointed  for  five  years  with  the  consent  of  the  Powers ;  and 
tfiat  mixed  commissions  of  Christians  and  Turks  should  be  established  to 
T^rulate  the  a&irs  of  those  provinces. 


512  THE  CONGRESS  OF  BERLIN 

would  at  once  take  their  departure,  and  that  thereafter 
the  Sultan  could  hope  for  no  further  sympathy  or  sup- 
port from  the  Powers.  On  the  17th  of  January  this  ul- 
timatum was  peremptorily  rejected,  and  the  Conference 
dispersed.  The  result  of  this  immense  folly  on  the  part 
of  the  Turkish  authorities  was  to  remove  all  obstacles  to 
the  advance  of  the  Russians,  and  to  make  it  certain  that 
with  the  Russians  they  must  now,  single-handed,  fight 
out  the  controversy  to  the  bitter  end. 

In  the  course  of  the  next  three  months  some  futile 
efforts  were  made  for  the  preservation  of  peace,  but  on 
the  1 2th  of  April  (O.  S.),  1877,  the  Czar  declared  war^ 
and  on  the  22d  of  June  his  armies  crossed  the  Danube. 
The  Roumanians  made  common  cause  with  the  Russians, 
and  declared  their  complete  independence  of  the  Sultan. 
In  the  course  of  the  summer  a  Roumanian  army  of  forty 
thousand  men,  well  disciplined  and  equipped,  joined  the 
invading  force.  At  first  fortune  favored  the  Turks.  In 
Bulgaria  and  in  Asia  Minor  the  Russians  suffered  serious 
reverses,  and  for  a  time  it  seemed  as  if  the  rash  confidence 
of  the  Turks  might  be  justified  by  the  event.  On  the 
30th  and  31st  of  July  the  Russians  suffered  a  disastrous 
defeat  in  their  attempt  to  carry  the  Turkish  works  at 
Plevna,  a  place  some  twenty- five  miles  south  of  the  Dan- 
ube, and  from  that  time  on,  this  unimportant  town  became 
the  point  on  which  turned  the  fortunes  of  the  war.  In 
September  another  unsuccessful  attack  upon  Plevna  cost 
the  Russian  and  Roumanian  forces  a  loss  of  eight  thou- 
sand men.  A  month  later  the  tide  turned.  On  the  15th 
of  October  Muktar  Pasha  was  totally  defeated  in  Armenia, 
and  on,  the  i8th  of  November  Kars  surrendtred,  leaving 


THE  CONGRESS  OF  BERUN.  513 

the  Russians  masters  of  Eastern  Asia  Minor.  On  the 
1 0th  of  December  the  long  and  desperate  struggle  at 
Plevna  was  brought  to  an  end  by  the  unconditional  sur- 
render of  Osman  Pasha  with  his  whole  army.  The  fall 
of  Plevna  was  followed  by  the  sudden  and  complete  col- 
lapse of  the  Turkish  cause.  All  power  of  resistance  was 
at  an  end.  On  the  20th  of  January,  1878,  the  Grand 
Duke  Nicholas  entered  Adrianople,  and  on  the  3d  of 
March  (N.  S.)  the  Treaty  of  San  Stefano  was  signed. 

This  treaty  was  -  signed  while  the  Russian  armies  lay 
encamped  at  the  gates  of  Constantinople,  unresisted  and 
irresistible,  holding  the  capital,  the  government,  and  the 
Empire  securely  in  their  grasp.  It  was  the  dictation  of 
relentless  power  to  a  crushed  and  helpless  state.  The 
treaty  provided  for  the  complete  independence,  with  en- 
larged territories,  of  Montenegro,  Servia,  and  Roumania ; 
and  for  a  war  indemnity  of  more  than  one  biUion  of  dol- 
lars, in  lieu  of  the  greater  part  of  which  the  Czar  was  to 
accept  territory  and  fortresses  in  Armenia.  The  most 
important  article  of  the  treaty,  an  article  which  came  very 
near  embroiling  all  Europe  in  war,  and  which  led  finally 
to  the  Congress  of  Berlin,  was  that  constituting  the  new 
Principality  of  Bulgaria.  This  principality  would  have 
included  almost  all  that  was  left  of  European  Turkey,  ex- 
tending from  the  Danube  to  Kavala  and  the  Archipel- 
ago, and  from  Adrianople  to  the  head  waters  of  the 
Drina  and  the  mountains  of  Albania.  It  was  to  be  sub- 
ject and  tributary  to  the  Porte,  but  its  government  and 
all  its  conditions  were  so  arranged  as  to  make  it  in  reality 
a  mere  dependency  of  Russia.  The  effect  of  the  treaty 
would  thus  have  been  to  firmly  establish  the  power  of 

22"^ 


514  THE  CONGRESS  OF  BERUN. 

Russia,  not  upon  the  Bosphorus  alone,  but  upon  the  Ar- 
chipelago and  the  Mediterranean. 

English  writers  and  statesmen,,  seeing  all  things  East- 
ern in  the  light  of  their  own  interests,  have  arraigned 
the.  attacks  of  Servia,  Russia,  and  Roumania  upon  the 
Turks  in  the  wars  of  the  past  two  years,  as  wholly  selfish 
and  aggressive,  without  provocation  or  justifying  cause. 
But  let  it  not  be  forgotten  that  the  Turk  is  a  stranger  and 
an  aHen  in  Europe,  holding  his  possessions  by  no  other 
right  than  that  of  a  most  cruel  and  murderous  conquest ; 
that  his  rule  has  been  that  of  the  true  believer  over 
Giaours  and  Christian  dogs ;  that,  save  as  they  were  wrung 
from  him  and  held  by  the  strong  hand,  he  has  conceded 
to  his  Christian  subjects  no  rights  whatsoever,  but  the 
right — a  partial  and  uncertain  right — to  live,  upon  the 
payment  of  tribute ;  and  that  his  government  in  this 
nineteenth  century  has  been  a  monstrous  anachronism,  a 
hideous  chaos  of  anarchy,  confusion,  poverty,  and  social 
stagnation,  incapable  of  improvement  or  reform.  Cer- 
tainly, Europe  owes  the  Turk  no  consideration,  is  under 
no  obligations  to  him,  save  upon  the  bond  of  treaty  stipu- 
lations; his  Christian  subjects  owe  him  no  allegiance,  have 
no  duty  towards  him  but  the  duty  to  break  his  evil  yoke 
from  their  necks  just  as  soon  as  they  have  the  power. 
Nevertheless,  it  was  not  for  the  well-being  of  Europe, 
least  of  all  was  it  in  accordance  with  the  interests  of  Eng- 
land and  Austria,  that  a  Russian  despotism  should  super- 
sede that  of  the  Turk  at  Constantinople.  Hardly,  there- 
fore, had  the  Russian  armies  taken  their  position  before 
Constantinople,  when  they  found  themselves  confronted 
by  a  British  fleet,  while  the  English  government  put  forth 


THE  CONGRESS  OF  BERLIN,  51$ 

its  peremptory  demand  that  the  Russians  should  still  hold 
themselves  bound  by  the  treaty  of  1856,  and  submit  the 
treaty  of  San  Stefano  to  a  Congress  of  the  European  Pow- 
ers. It  seemed  at  first  as  if  this  demand  could  not  be  con- 
ceded ;  but  wise  and  peaceful  counsels  at  last  prevailed ; 
Russia  yielded  to  the  voice  of  Europe,  and  on  the  14th  of 
June,  1878,  the  Congress  opened  at  Berhn — a  Congress 
composed,  not  of  envoys  and  ambassadors,  but  of  the 
Prime  Ministers  of  the  several  Powers,  embodying  in  it- 
self the  power  and  authority  of  Europe,  and  marking, 
by  the  mere  fact  of  its  convening,  a  new  era  in  the  history 
of  the  civilized  world.  A  spirit  of  wisdom,  conciliation, 
and  righteous  dealing,  not  always  seen  in  such  assemblies, 
marked  the  sessions  of  the  Congress,  and  on  the  13  th  of 
July,  with  the  joyful  approval  of  Christian  Europe,  the 
Treaty  of  Berlin  was  signed. 

The  chief  points  in  this  treaty,  important  to  our  pre- 
sent purpose,  are  the  following  : ' — 

1.  Roumania,  Servia,  and  Montenegro  are  recognized 
as  free  and  independent  states,  on  condition  that  they 
establish  the  perfect  freedom  of  religious  worship  and  the 
perfect  equality  of  all  religions  and  the  followers  of  all 
religions  before  the  law.  And,  by  Article  62,  the  same 
religious  freedom,  the  same  equality  of  the  adherents  of 
all  religions  in  all  political  rights,  privileges,  and  preroga- 
tives, is  extended  to  and  made  the  fundamental  law  of 
the  whole  Turkish  Empire. 

2.  The  boundaries  of  the  three  independent  states  thus 
formed  receive  the  following  modifications: — 

1  Official  English  Text  of  the  Treaty  of  Berlin.—London  Mail,  July  17, 
1878. 


5j6      •  THE  CONGRESS  OF  BERUN 

Roumania  restores  to  Russia  the  territory  lying  cast 
of  the  River  Pruth,  and  receives  the  islands  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Danube,  and  the  Dobrudja,  a  district  south  of  the 
mouths  of  the  Danube,  extending  to  a  Hne  drawn  from 
a  point  on  the  Danube  just  below  Silistria  south-eastward 
so  as  to  strike  the  Black  Sea  below  Mangalia. 

Servia  receives  an  accession  of  territory  on  the  south- 
east, the  eastern  and  south-western  -  boundaries  of  the 
PrincipaHty  being  extended  so  as  to  meet  on  the  water- 
shed between  the  Morava  and  the  Struma,  at  a  point 
nearly  west  from  Sophia. 

Montenegro  is  enlarged  upon  the  south;  the  south- 
eastern boundary  being  removed  so  as  to  pass  between 
Antivari  and  Dulcigno  and  cross  Lake  Scutari.  The 
free  navigation  of  Lake  Scutari  and  the  Boyana  River 
are  assured  to  the  Montenegrins.  Antivari  and  its  terri- 
tory are  thus  given  to  the  Principality,  but  on  condition 
that  its  harbor  be  closed  to  the  ships  of  war  of  all  nations, 
and  that  Montenegro  shall  have  neither  ships  of  war  nor 
flag  of  war. 

3.  Bulgaria,  the  province  lying  north  of  the  Balkans, 
and  extending  west  to  the  new  boundary  of  Servia  so  as 
to  include  Sophia,  is  constituted  a  semi-independent 
principality  on  the  same  footing  formerly  occupied  by 
Servia.  The  Principality  is  to  have  its  own  Prince,  freely 
chosen  by  the  people,  its  own  militia  and  domestic  govern- 
ment, and  is  to  be  tributary  to  the  Sultan,  but  under  the 
supervision  of  the  Great  Powers. 

4.  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  are  to  be  "  occupied  and 
administered  by  Austria- Hungary." 

5.  Central  Bulgaria,  the  district  south  of  the  Balkans, 


THE  CONGRESS  OF  BERLIN,  S17 

of  which  Philippopolis  (Philibeh)  is  the  capital,  is  consti- 
tuted an  autonomous  province,  subject  to  the  Sultan, 
under  the  name  of  Eastern  Roumelia.  The  southern 
boundary  of  Eastern  Roumelia  follows  the  range  of  the 
Despoto  Dagh  Mountains  until  it  strikes  the  River  Arda, 
then  turns  north,  crosses  the  Maritsa  and  the  Tunja  a 
few  miles  above  Adrianople,  then  strikes  eastwards  to 
the  Black  Sea.  Eastern  Roumelia  is  to  have  a  Christian 
Governor-general,  appointed  by  the  Porte  with  the  con- 
sent of  the  Powers,  for  the  term  of  five  years.  Its  system 
of  government  and  domestic  administration  is  to  be  elab- 
orated by  a  European  commission  to  be  appointed  at 
once.  It  is  to  have  its  own  militia  and  police  forces. 
The  Sultan  may  occupy  and  defend  the  province  by  his 
regular  army,  never  by  irregular  forces  or  bashi  bazouks. 

6.  The  Kingdom  of  Greece  will  rectify  its  northern 
boundary  by  agreement  with  the  Porte,  in  accordance 
with  the  13th  Protocol  of  the  Congress  of  Berlin.  The 
arrangements  now  in  force  in  the  Island  of  Crete  are  to 
be  strictly  carried  out ;  and  Turkish  commissions,  in 
which  the  native  populations  shall  be  largely  represented, 
acting  with  the  advice  of  the  European  commission  for 
Eastern  Roumelia,  are  to  extend  the  same  arrangements, 
with  necessary  modifications,  to  the  other  provinces  of 
the  Turkish  Empire. 

In  considering  the  effects  of  the  two  treaties — the 
Treaty  of  Berlin  and  the  Anglo-Turkish  Convention — 
upon  the  present  and  the  future  of  the  Turkish  Empire, 
it  is  to 'be  observed : — 

I.  The  northern  boundary  of  the  Sultan's  European 
dominions  is  in  effect  removed  southwards  from  the  Car- 


5l8  THE  CONGRESS  OF  BERLIN. 

pathians  and  the  Danube  to  the  Hne  of  the  Balkans ;  re- 
ducing the  area  of  Turkey  in  Europe  by  more  than  cne- 
half.  Roumania,  Servia,  and  Montenegro  are  wholly 
free ;  Bulgaria,  in  every  point  except  its  annual  tribute, 
is  equally  free  ;  and  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  *'  occupied 
and  administered  by  Austria- Hungary,"  without  terms 
or  limitations,  must  be  regarded  as  permanently  annexed 
to  Austria. 

2.  By  this  loss  of  territory  the  Empire  is  not  essentially 
weakened  ;  is,  on  the  contrary,  greatly  benefited  and 
strengthened.  Eastern  Roumelia  is  still  subject  to  the 
authority  of  the  Porte,^  and,  under  a  better  government, 
will  soon  become  more  valuable  to  the  Empire  than  ever 
before.  Bulgaria  is  lost,  but  its  tribute  still  remains; 
and  beyond  Bulgaria  the  loss  of  territory  is  in  every  re- 
spect a  great  gain.  The  Porte  has  been  relieved  of  the 
incumbrance  of  an  immense  territory  of  which  it  had 
long  had  but  the  most  partial  control  and  enjoyment, 
which  had  been  and  would  still  have  remained  the  occa- 
sion of  frequent,  costly,  and  ruinous  wars.  The  Eu- 
ropean provinces  still  remaining  form  a  vast  and  mag- 
nificent region,  compact,  homogeneous  (comparatively), 
and  easily  defensible,  enough  in  themselves  to  form  a 
great  and  powerful  state. 

3.  The  independence  of  the  Ottoman  government  is 
(for  the  time)  effectually  swept  away.  By  these  two  treaties 
the  Powers  haye  extended  their  authoritative  interference 
and  their  efficient  control  to  every  part  of  the  Turkish 
Empire  and  administration.      But  with  this  supervisiori 

*  The  relation  of  Eastern  Roumelia  to  the  Empire  will  be  almost  er 
actly  like  that  of  one  of  our  own  States  to  the  General  Government. 


THE  CONGRESS  OF  BERLIN.  $19 

there  is  also  protection ;  and  while,  for  the  first  time  in 
many  generations,  good  government  and  prosperity  are 
now  made  possible  to  all  the  peoples  of  the  Empire,  it 
is  at  the  same  time  relieved  from  all  occasion  for  its  pres- 
ent great  and  ruinous  armaments. 

4.  The  last  and  most  important  effect  of  the  Treaty 
of  Berlin  is  one  not  distinctly  stated,  perhaps  not  contem- 
plated, in  that  instrument.  By  this  treaty  the  Powers 
have  in  reality  drawn  a  permanent  dividing  line  between 
the  Greek  and  the  Slavonian  peoples  of  the  Empire,  and 
"  distributed  "  European  Turkey  between  them.  The 
peoples  north  of  the  dividing  line  ^  are  made  the  masters 
of  their  own  territories,  their  own  institutions,  their  own 
destinies,  while  the  Greeks,  excepting  one  general  pro- 
vision, are  passed  by  in  silence.  But  this  one  provision 
in  behalf  of  the  Greeks  may  prove  in  the  end  the  most 
important  point  of  the  whole  Treaty.  For  that  provision 
is  the  charter  of  full  deliverance  and  freedom  to  the 
whole  Greek  race — a  charter  already  given  in  form  and 
words  by  the  new  Turkish  Constitution,  but  now  sealed, 
guaranteed,  and  made  effectual  by  the  authority  of 
Europe.  No  person  in  the  Turkish  Empire  can  hereafter 
be  excluded,  on  the  ground  of  difference  of  religion,  from 
the  exercise  cf  civil  or  political  rights,  from  the  public 
service,  functions,  and  honors,  or  from  the  exercise  of  any 
profession  or  industry.*  This  provision  of  the  Treaty 
must  result,  in  no  long  time,  in  transferring  to  Greek 

^  Except  in  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  which,  in  their  present  divided, 
barbarian  state,  can  only  be  governed  by  a  strong  hand,  and  are  most  wisely 
subjected  to  the  authority  of  Austria. 

'  Articles  23  and  62. 


23 


5ao  THE  CONGRESS  OF  BERLIN, 

hands  the  complete  control  of  all  that  remains  of  Euro- 
pean  Turkey.^  Theirs  are  the  brains,  the  intelligence,  the 
capital,  the  restless  activity,  the  keen  sagacity,  the  prac- 
tical skill ;  and  now  that  all  disabilities  are  removed,  in 
their  hands  must  soon  center  the  positive  power.  By  the 
Treaty  of  Berlin  there  is  no  position  open  to  a  Turk  to 
which  the  Greek  may  not  equally  aspire.  A  Greek  may 
become  Pasha,  Ambassador,  or  Grand  Vizier,  may  rise  to 
command  the  armies  of  the  Sultan.  Higher  even  than 
this  are  the  possibilities  of  his  future  ;  for  in  the  event — 
not  improbable,  perhaps  not  very  remote — of  a  change  of 
the  dynasty  reigning  at  Constantinople,  it  is  at  least 
possible  that  a  Greek  should  attain  to  the  imperial  throne, 
and  so  fulfill  the  fond  and  long-cherished  dream  of  his 
race. 

'  £xcq>ting  Albania. 


CHAPTER    XII 


TURKEY  SINCE  THE  CONGRESS  OF  BERLIN. 

The  provisions  of  the  Congress  of  Berlin,  summed  up 
in  the  last  chapter,  although  ^accepted  by  the  Sultan, 
were  met  with  opposition  by  some  of  his  subjects,  as- 
sisted, as  some  think,  secretly  by  the  government  at 
Constantinople.  One  of  these  underhand  protests 
against  the  arrangements  made  by  the  treaty  of  1878, 
was  the  formation  of  the  Albanian  League.  Some 
years  later  a  Kurdish  League  also  was  discovered  to 
be  in  existence.  The  Moslem  population  of  Albania, 
displeased  with  the  check  to  Islamism,  revolted,  formed 
a  league,  and  raised  25,000  armed  men.  Mehemet  Ali, 
the  Turkish  commissioner  who  was  to  carry  out  in 
Albania  the  provisions  stipulated  at  Berlin,  was  mur- 
dered. The  Albanians  have  never  been  thoroughly 
under  the  rule  of  the  Turks.  They  now  resolved  to 
govern  themselves,  giving  up  no  part  of  Albania  to  for- 
eign nationalities,  but  remaining  subject  to  the  Sultan. 
This  rendered  it  hard  for  the  Porte  to  accede  to  the  de- 
mand made  by  the  other  powers  of  Europe  that  portions 
of  Montenegro  should  cease  to  belong  to  Turkey.  In 
1881"  the  Albanian  League  had  increased  in  power  and 
demanded  the  union  of  all  Albania  under  one  govern- 
ment superintended  by  the  Porte,  that  the  Albanian 
language  should  be  the  official  language,  and  should 

(521) 


522  TURKEY  SINCE    THE 

be  taught  in  the  schools,  that  Albanian  customs  and 
laws  should  remain  in  force,  and  that  the  boundaries 
should  be  once  and  for  all  fixed. 

In  1897  this  was  further  extended  by  a  demand  that 
the  Porte  should  grant  autonomy  to  Albania,  appoint- 
ing an  Albanian  as  governor.  This,  being  ignored  by 
the  Sultan,  led  to  an  uprising  which  was  quelled  by  the 
Turkish  troops. 

In  1«84,  upon  the  expiration  of  the  term  of  office  of 
Aleko  Pasha,  the  governorship  of  Eastern  Koumelia 
became  vacant.  Aleko  was  not  reappointed  because  of 
his  revolutionary  tendencies,  and  the  place  was  given 
to  his  minister,  Christovitch,  a  native  Bulgarian. 

In  the  following  year  a  revolution  broke  out  in  Eou- 
melia,  the  object  of  which  was  to  get  rid  of  Christovitch 
and  place  Aleko  Pasha  on  the  throne  as  King  of  United 
Bulgaria,  deposing  Prince  Alexander.  Another  party, 
however,  wished  to  put  Alexander  on  the  United  Bul- 
garian throne. 

In  1885  this  matter  was  adjusted  by  making  Alexan- 
der the  Governor- General  of  Eastern  Iloumelia. 

It  was  agreed  by  the  signers  of  the  Berlin  Treaty  that 
the  Sultan  should  undertake  "scrupulously  to  apply 
in  the  Island  of  Crete  the  Organic  Law  of  1868,  with 
such  modifications  as  may  be  considered  equitable," 
and  that  the  Sultan  should  depute  special  commissions 
for  the  management  of  affairs  in  the  island,  in  which 
commissions  the  native  element  should  be  largely  rep- 
resented. 

In  1884  there  was  some  disturbance  in  Crete,  the 
cause  of  which  was  the  innate  hatted  between  the 
Greek  and  Moslem  inhabitants.  This  was  most  bit- 
terly expressed  whenever  a  Greek  priest  was  arrested 


CONGRESS    OF   BERLIN  523 

and  tried  bj  Turkish  common  law,  and  was  accentu- 
ated in  the  present  case  bj  the  fact  that  the  governor- 
ship of  Crete,  which  had  become  vacant  this  year,  was 
about  to  be  filled  by  a  Moslem  appointee.  The  Grreek 
population  sent  protests,  in  the  shape  of  petitions  by 
telegraph,  both  to  the  English  government  and  to  the 
Sultan.  The  result  of  these  was  the  appointment  of 
the  former  governor  of  Crete,  whose  term  had  just  ex- 
pired, for  five  years  more.  Further  efforts  were  made 
on  behalf  of  the  Creek  priests,  and,  on  the  refusal  of 
the  Porte  to  change  the  order  making  them  subject 
to  Moslem  common  law,  the  interposition  of  Eussia  was 
gained,  a  change  in  the  Turkish  ministry  took  place, 
and  the  Sultan  finally  granted  that  the  Creek  priests 
need  not  be  brought  before  civil  tribunals. 

In  1887  further  concessions  were  made  to  the  people 
of  Crete.  Half  the  revenue  of  the  island  was  to  belong 
to  the  Cretans,  a  deficit  in  the  budget  in  one  year  was 
to  be  compensated  for  in  other  more  favorable  years, 
the  acts  of  the  Cretan  Assembly  were  to  be  approved 
in  Constantinople  within  three  months,  and  the  Chris- 
tian element  in  the  island  was  to  be  given  a  greater 
recognition  in  matters  of  local  government. 

In  1889  the  attention  of  the  European  powers  was 
called  again  to  Crete.  The  discontent  of  the  Christian 
inhabitants  had  reached  such  a  pitch  that  acts  of  vio- 
lence were  common.  Additional  Turkish  troops  were 
sent  to  the  island,  the  governor  was  replaced,  and  two 
villages  in  the  interior  were  the  scenes  of  bloody  en- 
counters between  the  natives  and  the  Turkish  soldiery. 
A  movement  was  set  on  foot  for  the  annexation  of  Crete 
to  Greece.  The  Turkish  troops  were  finally  ordered  to 
remain  in  garrison,  which  gave  opportunity  for  further 


524  TURKEY  SINCE    THE 

violence  in  the  rural  districts.  Many  persons  fled  to 
Grreece  for  safety.  At  this  juncture  the  Grreek  govern- 
ment addressed  a  circular  letter  to  Austria,  Grreat  Brit- 
ain, Italy,  Germany,  Eussia  and  France,  asking  them 
to  unite  in  sending  military  and  naval  forces  to  Crete 
sufficient  to  restore  order,  and  said  if  this  could  not  be 
done  Greece  would  herself  send  her  whole  armament 
to  Crete  for  that  purpose.  The  request  was  not  granted 
by  the  powers,  on  the  ground  that  the  disturbance  was 
not  international  in  character,  and  that  they  were  not 
permitted  to  do  so  by  the  Treaty  of  Berlin  of  1878.  The 
Turkish  government  kept  on  sending  troops  till  there 
were  40,000  in  the  island,  and  comparative  quiet  was 
gradually  restored.  This  was  followed  by  a  decree 
from  Constantinople  which  considerably  diminished  the 
privileges  of  the  Cretans.  Their  assembly  was  reduced 
to  fifty- seven  members,  the  governor- general  was  to 
be  appointed  for  an  unlimited  term  of  office,  a  Turkish 
police  force  was  established  all  over  the  island,  and  an 
amnesty  granted  to  all  the  Cretans  except  the  leaders 
of  the  last  disturbance.  This  was  met,  however,  by  a 
firm  determination  orf  the  part  of  the  Cretans  not  to 
yield  to  the  conditions  imposed,  and  the  foreign  minister 
of  Greece  pointed  out  to  the  powers  that  the  decree  was 
not  in  accordance  with  agreements  with  the  Porte, 
which  had  been  made  even  before  the  Congress  of 
Berlin,  and  had  been  again  confirmed  by  that  body. 
He  added  that  the  Greek  government  would  be  unable 
to  acquiesce  in  the  carrying  out  of  the  decree.  The 
position  of  Greece  in  the  European  world  was  just  at 
this  time  strengthened  by  the  marriage  of  the  Crown 
Prince  of  Greece,  the  Duke  of  Sparta,  to  the  Princess 
Sophie,  sister  of  William  II.  of  Germany. 


CONGRESS    OF   BERLIN  625 

In  1890  more  atrocities  were  committed  by  Tarkisli 
troops  in  Crete,  and  excesses  of  both  Christians  and 
Moslems  caused  another  exodus  to  Greece,  more  than 
2,000  persons  having  crossed  from  Crete.  A  decree  of 
the  Sultan  pardoning  certain  political  prisoners  made 
matters  more  peaceful  for  a  time,  but  a  dispute  arose 
concerning  the  appointment  of  Bulgarian  bishops  to 
Greek  sees. 

In  1895  Christian  uprisings  again  occurred.  The 
Turkish  forces  attacked  the  insurgents  near  Apokorona 
on  December  10th,  but  were  repulsed.  After  being  re- 
enforced  they  captured  a  number  of  Christians.  In 
1896  further  friction  between  Christian  and  Moslem 
elements  was  followed  by  the  retirement  of  Abdullah 
Pasha,  the  governor-general,  and  the  substitution  of 
Georgi  Berovitch  Pasha,  Prince  of  Samos,  who  ,was 
thought  to  be  both  enligbtened  and  humane.  Abdullah 
was  retained,  however,  as  commander-in-chief  of  troops. 
The  Cretans  made  still  further  demands  upon  the  Porte, 
looking  to  the  powers  to  help  them  obtain  them.  The 
demands  included  as  before  that  a  Christian  should  be 
appointed  governor,  and  added  others:  viz.,  the  establish- 
ment of  a  native  militia;  the  confinement  of  the  Turk- 
ish troops  to  three  forts  on  the  island;  that  a  propor- 
tionate number  of  Christian  ofhcials  vshould  be  allowed 
to  hold  public  office,  and,  chief  among  other  requests, 
that  the  powers  should  guarantee  their  fulfillment. 
After  considerable  delay  upon  the  Sultan's  part,  all  of 
these  demands  were  conceded,  and  an  agreement  was 
made  between  the  Sultan  and  the  powers.  The  carry- 
ing out  of  these  provisions  was  almost  prevented  by  the 
fact  that  the  commander  of  the  Turkish  army  in  Crete, 
Abdullah  Pasha,  was  superior  in  rank  to  the  governor- 


526  TURKEY   SINCE    THE 

general,  Berovitcli  Pasha,  and  on  many  occasions  re- 
fused to  co-operate  with  him. 

In  1897  an  attempt,  at  first  ineffectual,  but  later  suc- 
cessful, was  made  by  the  European  powers  to  come  to 
an  understanding  among  themselves  by  which  they 
could  unite  in  a  combined  method  of  coercion  to  force 
the  Sultan,  by  a  military  and  naval  display,  to  carry 
out  in  reality  the  much-needed  reforms  that  he  had  so 
long  promised.  Meanwhile  a  war  had  broken  out  be- 
tween Greece  and  Turkey  on  the  borders  of  Thessaly, 
and  Crete  had  declared  independence  from  Turkey,  with 
the  long-cherished  hope  of  becoming  united  with  Grreece. 
The  Island  of  Crete  had  become  the  scene  of  murder 
and  vandalism.  The  insurgents  on  March  25th  at- 
tacked the  Turkish  troops  in  their  blockhouses  in  Akro- 
tisi,  and.  drove  them  out,  but  were,  after  a  bombard- 
ment by  the  fleet,  forced  to  retire.  The  Cretan-s  were 
re- enforced  by  Greek  troops.  The  powers  proposed 
the  autonomy  of  Crete  and  the  Sultan  agreed  to  the 
proposal,  but  it  did  not  please  either  Greece  or  Crete. 

The  year  1897  passed  without  any  event  of  impor- 
tance occurring  in  Crete,  sav^e  perhaps  the  withdrawal 
of  a  German  army  corps.  Tliis  was  thought  to  be  an 
indication  that  Germany,  who  has  large  commercial 
interests  in  the  Balkan  provinces  of  Turkey,  had  con- 
cluded not  to  countenance  the  attitude  of  the  great 
powers  toward  Turkey. 

■  In  1898  the  peaceful  blockade  of  the  island  still  con- 
tinued, and  after  several  outbreaks  of  the  disorders,  in 
one  of  which  some  British  marines  were  killed,  com- 
parative order  was  restored  by  tlie  combined  efforts 
of  the  admirals.  In  September  they  resolved  that  the 
Ottoman  troops  should  be  obliged  to  withdraw  from  the 


CONGRESS    OF   BERLIN  527 

island  for  good,  and  the  month  of  October  was  set  for 
their  departure.  Difficnlties  arose,  however,  in  Octo- 
ber, the  powers  not  agreeing  as  to  how  much  force 
should  be  exercised  to  make  the  Turks  give  up  their 
arms. 

During  the  period  under  review  in  this  chapter,  from 
1878  to  1898,  Turkey  has  received  more  attention  and 
disapprobation,  for  her  almost  criminal  negligence  in 
the  management  of  Armenia,  than  for  anything  else 
that  has  happened  in  her  administration. 

The  troubles  in  Armenia  wer^  heard  from  as  early  as 
1880,  when  accounts  came  to  the  civilized  world  of  ter- 
rible destitution  and  death  by  starvation  in  the  prov- 
ince of  Van.  They  were  oppressed  by  unjust  taxes, 
only  part  of  which  ever  reached  the  imperial- treasury 
at  Constantinople;  they  were  continually  harassed  by 
the  Kurds,  who  seem  to  have  had  no  aim  but  massacre 
and  pillage.  Several  hundred  villages  were  destroyed, 
the  inhabitants  fleeing  for  protection  to  Eussian  ter- 
ritory. Armenia  was  supposed  to  have  a  force  of  gen- 
darmes, as  appointments  for  the  purpose  had  been  made 
in  Constantinople,  but  had  so  far  been  only  committed 
to  paper.  Immediate  protests  were  registered  with  the 
Porte  by  the  powers,  and  as  usual  reforms  were  agreed 
upon,  but  as  always  before  and  many  times  afterward 
the  gultan  made  little  pretense  of  carrying  out  his 
promises.  Where  he  did  as  he  had  said,  he  followed 
the  letter  and  not  the  spirit  of  the  agreement.  For 
instance,  he  was  persuaded  to  divide  Armenia  into  dis- 
tricts more  easily  to  be  administered,  and  such  that  the 
Armenians  should  have  some  voice  in  the  local  man- 
agement; but  the  districts  when  finally  made  were  so 
divided  as  to  give  the  Moslems  a  majority  in  every  dis- 


528  TURKEY  SINCE    THE 

trict.  To  make  matters  still  harder  for  the  Armenians, 
the  Kurds  were  organized  into  a  "League"  somewhat 
similar  to  the  Albanian  League  already  noticed. 

In  1881  the  condition  of  the  Armenians  was  no  better, 
as  they  continued  to  suffer  from  the  inroads  of  the 
Kurds;  and  in  1883  a  further  protest  from  Armenia 
was  heard  against  the  delay  of  the  Turkish  authorities 
to  carry  out  the  promised  reforms.  In  1889  Europe 
again  had  to  interpose,  in  the  cause  of  justice  and  in 
behalf  of  the  Armenians,  against  the  ravages  of  the 
Turkish  Kurds,  whose  leader,  Moussa  Bey,  was  forced 
to  go  to  Constantinople  for  trial;  where  he  was  ac- 
quitted, as  might  have  been  expected,  of  most  of  the 
charges  made  against  him. 

In  1890  the  affairs  of  the'Armenians  were  in  so  sorry 
a  condition  that  their  cause  was  taken  up  by  a  number 
of  Armenian  archbishops  and  bishops,  who  made  a 
report  to  the  Constantinople  government  and  a  petition 
that  the  privileges  of  the  Armenian  Church  might  be 
given  back  to  it,  and  that  the  reforms  promised  by  the 
Sultan's  representatives  at  the  Congress  of  Berlin  should 
at  last  be  made.  .  Charges  were  trumped  up  against 
the  churches  that  they  contained  rifles  and  ammunition 
and  that  the  priests  fomented  a  spirit  of  revolution, 
but  upon  investigation  these  charges  proved  to  be  un- 
founded. The  search  made  for  arms  had  resulted  only 
in  arousing  the  people  to  much  bitterness  of  feeling  and 
in  damage  to  the  church  property.  Shops  were  closed, 
and,  after  a  Christian  attack  on  some  Mohammedan 
shops,  a  great  slaughter  of  the  Christian  inhabitants 
followed,  an  armed  mob  falling  upon  unprotected  men 
and  women,  killing  them  and  smashing  their  houses. 
The  windows  of  the  British  consul's  office  were  broken 


CONGRESS    OF  BERLIN  529 

and  the  lives  of  the  consul  and  his  wife  were  imperiled. 
Twenty  persons  were  killed  and  over  five  hundred 
wounded.  Another  serious  scene  of  violence  was  the 
Armenian  Cathedral,  in  a  small  town  near  Constanti- 
nople. *In  this  affair  two  Armenians  lost  their  lives 
and  thirty  were  wounded.  The  Patriarch  of  the  Church 
resigned  and  a  reign  of  anarchy  was  about  to  begin, 
when  the  Sultan  appointed  a  commission  to  inquire  into 
the  causes  of  the  disaffection  on  the  part  of  the  Arme- 
nian people.  The  commissioners,  who  were  Armenians, 
reported  that  their  people  had  no  intention  to  revolt 
provided  they  were  given  the  right  to.  live  without 
incessant  persecutions.  Their  report  was  re-enforced 
by  the  statements  of  two  foreign  ambassadors.  The 
Sultan  persisted  in  his  policy  of  delay,  and  named  com- 
missions one  after  the  other  to  investigate  further  and 
further;  but  no  good  came  of  them,  save  that  the  Patri- 
arch who  had  resigned  was  persuaded  to  take  back  his 
resignation  for  the  peace  of  the  community. 

In  1894,  after  the  Kurdish  depredations,  the  Arme- 
nians were  unable  to  pay  their  taxes,  and  were  pun- 
ished by  extremely  cruel  treatment  inflicted  on  them 
by  the  Turkish  troops.  The  first  force  sent  against  the 
mountaineers  of  the  Sassun  district  was  repulsed,  but  a 
large  number  of  soldiers  was  then  collected,  finishing 
their  work  of  subduing  and  pacifying  the  debtors  by 
laying  waste  twenty- five  villages  and  murdering  sev- 
eral thousand  Christians.  This  was  the  report  sent  to 
civilized  Europe  from  Armenian  sources. 

The  Turkish  government  published  an  account  of  the 
massacre  which  may  be  given  as  the  characteristic 
Moslem  view  of  these  troubles:  "Some  Armenian  brig- 
ands, provided  with  arms  of  foreign  origin,  joined  an 


630  TURKEY  SINCE    THE 

insurgent  Kurd  tribe  for  the  purpose  of  committing 
excesses,  and  they  burned  and  devastated  several  Mus- 
sulman villages.  To  give  an  idea  of  the  ferocity  of 
these  Armenian  bands,  it  is  reported  that,  among  other 
abominable  crimes,  they  burned  alive  a  Mussulman 
noble.  Kegular  troops  were  sent  to  the  scene  to  protect 
the  peaceable  inhabitants  from  these  depredations.-  The 
Ottoman  troops  not  only  protected  and  respected  the 
submissive  portion  of  the  population,  as  well  as  the 
women  and  children,  but  re-established  order  to  the  gen- 
eral satisfaction.  It  is  not  true  that  the  Kurds  seized 
the  furniture,  effects  and  cattle  of  the  fugitive  Arme- 
nians. The  latter  took  their  property  into  the  moun- 
tains before  breaking  out  into  revolt,  and  confided  them 
to  the  care  of  their  Kurdish  acolytes.  The  Armenian 
women  at  present  with  the  Kurds  belong  to  the  families 
of  the  brigands,  and  went  of  their  own  accord  with 
their  husbands  to  the  insurgent  Kurds.  As  regards 
the  Armenian  villages  said  to  have  been  destroyed,  it 
was  the  Armenians  who  carried  off  all  their  belongings 
from  their  own  villages  before  giving  themselves  up  to 
brigandage."  As  was  the  custom,  a  commission  was 
appointed  to  "look  into  the  misdeeds  of  the  Armenian 
brigands,"  but  it  was  doubted  by  all  the  European  na- 
tions that  this,  any  more  than  any  other  commission, 
would  serve  the  ends  of  real  justice. 

The  year  1895  saw  absolutely  no  improvement  in 
the  condition  of  the  Armenians.  The  Sultan  again 
put  off  the  powers  of  Europe  with  the  appointment 
of  further  commissions  and  the  enactment  of  further 
laws  for  the  carrying  out  of  reforms,  but  these  were 
no  more  fruitful  of  good  result  than  the  many  empty 
promises  which   he   had  before   given.     It  seemed  as 


CONGRESS    OF   BERLIN  531 

likely  that  lie  was  unable  as  that  he  was  .unwilling 
to  enforce  the  carrying  through  of  the  improvements 
in  administration.  And  to  make  matters  even  worse 
for  the  Armenians,  it  became  known  that  a  secret  revo- 
lutionary society  had  been  formed  by  them  in  1887, 
which  had  for  its  objects  the  assassination  by  shooting, 
stabbing  or  bomb- throwing  of  the  persons  whom  they 
found  to  be  most  in  their  way,  besides  attacks  to  be 
made  upon  mosques  and  barracks,  and  upon  the  Mo- 
hammedan officials,  including  the  tax-collectors.  They 
also  resolved  forcibly  to  release  prisoners  arrested  for 
revolutionary  demonstrations.  It  was  these  facts,  and 
the  further  statements  made  by  Europeans  resident 
in  Turkish  provinces,  admitting  the  occasional  barbar- 
ity of  the  Armenians  themselves  in  their  encounters 
with  the  Turks,  which  delayed  the  full  sympathy  of 
the  European  nations.  But  the  atrocities  reported  by 
eye-witnesses  finally  became  so  great  that  the  forcible 
interposition  of  civilized  nationalities  became  necessary. 
A  Grerman  merchant's  report  of  what  he  involuntarily 
saw  and  heard  might  be  mentioned  as  a  mild  instance 
of  the  barbarity  displayed  by  Turks  against  defenceless 
Armenians.  He  was  on  board  an  Austrian  vessel,  ly- 
ing off  the  city  docks  of  Trebizond,  at  the  time  of  the 
j;nassacre  of  October  8,  1895.  An  Armenian  was  shot, 
wounded,  and  pushed  from  the  docks  into  the  water. 
As  this  was  not  deep  enough  to  drown  him,  he  was 
showered  with  stones.  Finally  some  Turks  rowed  out 
to  him  in  a  boat,  and  instead  of  shooting  him  dead, 
cracked  his  skull  with  a  stone.'  Another  was  thrown 
into  the  water  and  held  under  till  he  drowned.  Ac- 
counts even  worse  than  this  of  torture  and  butchery 
would  fill  a  volume  and  leave  the  reader  with  the  im- 


582  TURKEY  SINCE    THE 

pression  that  there  is  no  respect  in  the  hearts  of  the 
Turks  for  the  humanity  of  anything  not  Moslem,  and 
that  Armenians  are  hated  by  them  and  treated  by  them, 
in  almost  every  way,  worse  than  dogs  of  the  street. 

The  year  1896  in  the  history  of  Armenian  troubles 
was  signalized  by  the  attack  upon  the  Ottoman  Bank 
and  the  massacres  at  Constantinople  and  in  Anatolia. 
The  revolutionary  party  among  the  Armenians  had 
acquired  such  strength  that  a  number  of  them  were 
emboldened  to  seize  the  Ottoman  Bank  at  Constanti- 
nople August  26,  and  to  threaten  that,  if  the  Sultan 
did  not  allow  them  and  their  fellow  Christians,  then 
in  imprisonment,  to  leave  the  country  in  safety,  they 
would  blow  up  the  bank  and  themselves  along  with 
it.  This  act,  committed  with  no  view  of  robbing  the 
bank,  but  only  as  a  means  of  impressing  the  Porte 
with  the  desperate  straits  of  their  countrymen,  brought 
upon  the  Armenians  in  Constantinople  a  visitation  of 
cruelty  and  barbarity  at  the  hands  of  the  Turks  that 
has  not  been  equaled  in  many  years.  The  number  of 
persons  killed  in  the  rioting  which  filled  the  next  two 
days  was  estimated  to  be  over  six  thousand.  A  signifi- 
cant characteristic  of  the  attitude  of  the  Porte  in  these 
troubles  is  furnished  by  the  facts  laid  before  the  Sultan 
in  the  following  collective  note,  which  was  sent  to  him 
by  Austria,  France,  Grermany,  Great  Britain,  Italy  and 
Russia:  "The  representatives  of  the  Great  Powers  be- 
lieve it  their  duty  to  draw  the  attention  of  the  Sublime 
Porte  to  an  exceptionally  serious  side  of  the  disorders 
which  have  recently  stained  with  blood  the  capital  and 
its  environs.  It  is  the  declaration  on  positive  data  of 
the  fact  that  the  savage  bands  which  murderously  at- 
tacked   the  Armenians   and   pillaged   the   houses   and 


CONGRESS    OF   BERLIN  533 

sliops,  which  they  entered  under  pretense  of  looking 
for  agitators,  were  not  accidental  gatherings  of  fanati- 
cal people,  but  presented  every  indication  of  a  special 
organization,  known  by  certain  agents  of  the  authori- 
ties, if  not  directed  by  them.  This  is  proved  by  the 
following  circumstances:  1.  The  bands  rose  simultane- 
ously at  different  points  of  the  town  at  the  first  news 
of  the  occupation  of  the  bank  by  the  Armenian  revolu- 
tionaries, before  even  the  police  or  an  armed  force  had 
appeared  on  the  scene  of  the  disorder,  while  the  Sub- 
lime Porte  admits  that  information  was  received  in 
advance  by  the  police  regarding  the  criminal  designs 
of  the  agitators.  2.  A  great  part  of  the  people  who 
composed  these  bands  were  dressed  and  armed  in  the 
same  manner.  8.  They  were  led  or  accompanied  by 
Softas,  soldiers,  or  even  police  officers,  who  not  only 
looked  on  unmoved  at  their  excesses,  but  at  times  even 
took  part  in  them.  4.  Several  heads  of  the  detective 
police  were  seen  to  distribute  cudgels  and  knives  among 
these  Bashi  Bazouks,  and  point  out  to  them  the  direc- 
tion to  take  in  search  of  victims.  5.  They  were  able 
to  move  about  freely,  and  accomplish  their  crimes  with 
impunity,  under  the  eyes  of  the  troops  and  their  offi- 
cers, even  in  the  vicinity  of  the  imperial  palace.  6. 
One  of  the  assassins,  arrested  by  the  dragoman  of  one 
of  the  embassies,  declared  that  the  soldiers  could  not 
arrest  him.  On  being  taken  to  the  Yildiz  Palace,  he 
was  received  by  the  attendants  as  one  of  their  acquaint- 
ances. 7.  Two  Turks,  employed  by  Europeans,  who 
disappeared  during  the  two  days'  massacre,  declared, 
on  their  return,  that  they  had  been  requisitioned  and 
armed  with  knives  and  cudgels  in  order  to  kill  Arme- 
nians.    These  facts  need  no  comment.     The  only  re- 


534  TURKEY  SINCE    THE 

marks  to  be  added  are  that  they  recall  what  happened 
in  Anatolia,  and  that  such  a  force,  springing  up  under 
the  eyes  of  the  authorities,  and  with  the  co-operation  of 
certain  of  the  latter' s  agents,  becomes  an  exceedingly 
dangerous  weapon.  Directed  to-day  against  one  na- 
tionality of  the  country,  it  may  be  employed  to-morrow 
against  j^he  foreign  colonies,  or  may  even  turn  against 
those  who  tolerated  its  creation.  The  representatives 
of  the  Great  Powers  do  not  believe  it  right  to  conceal 
these  facts  from  their  governments,  and  consider  it 
their  duty  to  demand  of  the  Sublime  Porte  that  the 
origin  of  this  organization  should  be  sought  out,  and 
that  the  instigators  and  principal  actors  should  be  dis- 
covered and  punished  with  the  utmost  rigor.  They 
are  ready,  on  their  part,  to  facilitate  the  inquiry,  which 
should  be  opened  by  making  known  all  the  facts  brought 
to  their  notice  by  eye-witnesses,  which  they  will  take 
care  to  submit  to  a  special  investigation." 

The  Sultan  thereupon  denied  that  the  government 
had  had  any  part  in  the  control  of  the  murderers,  but 
his  statements  were  received  with  doubt,  as  massacres 
went  on  in  other  parts  of  the  empire. 

The  year  1897  saw  continued  massacres  of  Arme- 
nians, but  more  attention  was  paid  to  the  war  with 
Greece,  which  broke  out  on  April  9th.  Besides  sym- 
pathizing with  the  Cretans  in  their  contest  with  Mo- 
hammedans, the  Greeks  had  been  led,  to  mobilize  their 
troops  on  their  northern  frontier,  where  Turkish  sol- 
diers were  being  collected  in  suspiciously  large  num- 
bers. The  first  blow  seems  to  have  been  struck  by 
Greece,  though  her  officers  said  the  attack  upon  the 
Turkish  encampment  in  Thessaly  had  been  made  with- 
out their  orders.     The  war  was  a  series  of  successes  for 


CONGRESS    OF   BERLIN  535 

Turkey.  By  the  treaty  of  peace,  signed  September  18, 
1897,  the  forts  on  the  northeiui  frontier  were  given  into 
the  possession  of  Turkey,  together  with  a  large  war  in- 
demnity to  be  paid  by  Grreece.  The  result  of  the  war 
was  what  had  been  expected,  as  the  Grreeks  were  un- 
trained, ill  armed,  and  badly  generaled,  and  the  Turks 
are  thought  to  have  had  the  skilled  advice,  in  their 
maneuvers,  of  certain  German  army  officers. 

We  have  thus  given  a  short  account  of  what  has 
happened  since  the  last  chapter  was  written  in  two  of 
the  principal  divisions  of  the  Ottoman  Empire;  viz., 
Armenia  and  Crete.  It  would  be  fruitless  to  follow 
the  intricacies  of  the  history  of  Bosnia,  Bulgaria,  East- 
ern Koumelia,  and  other  states  belonging  to  or  tribu- 
tary to  the  Turkish  government.  A  word  should  be 
said,  however,  in  this  place  concerning  the  later  history 
of  Egypt,  which  is  the  most  important  vassal  state  of 
Turkey. 

In  1879  the  Khedive,  Ismail  Pasha,  was  deposed  by 
the  Sultan,  and  his  son,  Tewfik,  was  made  Khedive. 
His  position  was,  to  say  the  least,  uncomfortable,  as  he 
had  several  masters — the  English  and  French,  who  had 
sent  commissioners  to  superintend  Egyptian  finances, 
in  order  that  the  money  loaned  on  the  Suez  Canal 
should  be  properly  managed  and  eventually  paid  back; 
the  Sultan,  who  had  placed  him  upon  the  Egyptian 
throne;  and  a  new  so-called  "nationalist"  party,  of 
which  the  leader  was  Arabi  Pasha,  who  had  risen 
from  a  Fellah  to  be  colonel  in  the  army.  With  the 
motto,  "Egypt  for  the  Egyptians,"  he  rallied  around 
him  the  army  and  the  populace,  who  hated  the  Euro- 
pean Christians.  It  was  not  until  September  9,  1881, 
that  any  open  demonstration  was  made.     On  that  day, 


536  TURKEY  SINCE    THE 

Arabi  Pasha  marched  several  regiments  of  Egyptian 
troops  to  the  palace  of  the  Khedive,  and,  with  cannon 
trained  on  the  palace  windows,  demanded  that  the  Eiaz 
ministry,  unpopular  with  the  army,  should  be  retired, 
that  the  Chamber  of  Notables  should  be  summoned, 
and  that  certain  reforms  desired  by  the  army  should 
be  carried  out.  After  some  hesitation  the  Khedive 
granted  the  first  demand,  and  Arabi  gave  up  the  other 
two.  This  compromise  was  followed  by  the  appoint- 
ment of  Sherif  Pasha  as  Prime  Minister,  with  liberty  to 
choose  his  own  Cabinet.  Arabi  Pasha  then  took  his 
regiment  from  Cairo.  In  the  following  year,  however, 
the  prospect  of  a  military  revolt  was  so  evident  that 
two  war  vessels  were  sent  to  Alexandria.  The  Egyp- 
tians began  to  throw  up  earthworks  opposite  the 'ships 
as  they  lay  at  anchor  and  to  place  cannon  behind  them. 
The  English  admiral  demanded  that  these  be  taken 
away.  Upon  the  refusal  of  the  troops,  who  were  vir- 
tually under  the  sole  control  of  Arabi,  to  do  this.  Ad- 
miral Seymour  opened  fire  on  them  and  then  on  the 
town.  The  forts  at  the  entrance  of  the  harbor  returned 
the  iire,  but  at  the  end  of  two  days  a  flag  of  truce  was" 
displayed.  It  was  found  that  Arabi  had  fled  with  his 
regiment.  The  city  was  given  up  to  riot  and  pillage. 
The  British  soldiers,  coming  several  days  later,  took 
possession  of  the  town,  and  restored  to  his  palace  the 
Khedive  Tewfik,  who  had  fled  to  a  place  of  safety. 
Arabi  was  pursued  to  Tel-el- Kebir,  where  he  made  a 
stand,  but  was  finally  defeated  after  a  sharp  battle. 
Arabi  was  taken  prisoner,  sentenced  to  death  by  the 
Khedive,  but  finally  his  punishment  was  commuted  to 
banishment  to  the  island  of  Ceylon. 

The  Egyptian  army  was  now  reconstructed.     About 


CONGRESS    OF   BERLIN  537 

eleven  thousand  men  were  conscribed,  half  the  officers 
being  British.  Since  then  an  army  of  occupation,  con- 
sisting of  four  thousand  five  hundred  men,  has  been 
maintained  in  Egypt  by  Grreat  Britain. 

The  financial  affairs  of  Egypt  were  managed  by  a 
French  and  an  English  adviser — M.  Blignieres  and 
Mr.  Wilson — until  1883,  when  the  so-called  Dual  Con- 
trol was  abolished,  and  an  Englishman,  Sir  A.  Colvin, 
was  made  financial  councilor  to  the  Khedive. 

In  1877  Charles  George  Grordon  was  appointed  by 
the  Khedive  governor  of  the  whole  of  the  Soudan, 
which  post  he  kept  until  1880,  when  he  resigned  to 
go  to  India  as  secretary  to  the  British  governor- gen- 
eral. He  was  in  1884  persuaded  by  the  Khedive  again 
to  take  charge  of  the  Soudan,  to  win  it  back  for  the 
Khedive  from  the  power  of  the  Mahdi,  or  alleged  Mo- 
hammedan Messiah,  who  had  got  a  large  following, 
and,  accompanied  by  Osman  Digna,  was  beginning  a 
revolt  of  threatening  proportions.  His  efforts  in  put- 
ting down  the  Mahdist  movement  were  unsuccessful; 
and  after  being  shut  in  Khartoum,  which  was  sur- 
rounded by  the  Mahdists,  he  was  finally  taken  by  them 
and  killed,  just  before  a  relief  expedition  of  British  sol- 
diers could  arrive,  The  British  then  retired  from  the 
Soudan  until  1896,  when  the  restlessness  of  the  Mah- 
dists, after  the  defeat  of  the  Italians  in  Eretria,  and  the 
successes  of  the  new  Mahdist  leader,  the  Khalifa,  in- 
duced the  British  government  to  send  another  force  to 
regain  possession  of  the  Soudan.  The  expedition  had 
succeeded  in  1898,  under  Greneral  Sir  H.  H.  Kitchener, 
in  regaining  Omdurman,  the  city  built  opposite  the 
ruins  of  Khartoum;  and  in  September  of  that  year 
had  progressed  as  far  as  Fashoda,  some  four  hundred 


538  SINCE  THE  CONGRESS  OF  BERLIN 

miles  southward,  where,  to  their  great  surprise,  they 
found  a  French  force,  under  General  Marchand,  al- 
ready in  possession.  It  was  feared  that  this  would 
lead  to  serious  complications  between  France  and  Great 
Britain. 

The  anomalous  condition  of  Egypt  to-day,  which,  as 
tributary  to  Turkey,  pays  her  $3,600,000  annually,  is 
well  described  by  a  writer  in  the  "Fortnightly  Review." 

"The  serious  question  for  responsible  people  now  to 
ask  themselves  is:  Whether  the  beneficial  improvement 
that  has  taken  place  in  the  Khedive's  Egypt  is  to  con- 
tinue, or  whether  it  is  to  be  checked  and  probably  en- 
tii^ely  destroyed?  One  thing  is  certain,  that,  unless 
there  is  some  European  control,  all  the  advances  that 
have  been  gained  since  1885  would  vanish.  Were 
Egypt  left  to  herself,  if  that  were  possible,  or  were  it 
again  to  pass  under  the  control  of  Turkish  pashas,  all 
old  methods  and  old  abuses  would  be  revived.  .  .  . 
It  is  probable  that,  were  European  control  withdrawn, 
there  would  be  such  a  rebound  that  the  last  state  of 
the  land  would  be  worse  than  the  first.  Even  the 
great  works  that  have  been  commenced  would  almost 
certainly  be  neglected,  and,  by  inattention  and  care- 
lessness, go  to  ruin." 


INDEX 


Achrida,  capital  of  the  Second  Bulgarian  Kingdom,  32^ 

Agriculture  of  Greece,  depressed  condition  of,  300-4. 

Albanians,  history  and  character  of,  167-77,  186-^. 

Albigenses  of  Southern  France,  52-3. 

Alexander  Kara  Georgevitch,  accession  and  government  of,  413-14;  €»• 
eluded  from  the  throne  of  Servia,  415. 

Alexis  Comnenus,  reign  of,  63. 

Alfred  of  England,  chosen  by  the  Greeks  for  their  King,  277. 

Ali  Cumurgi  recovers  the  Moreaand  falls  at  the  battle  of  Peterwardein,  165-^ 

Ali  Pasha  of  Yannina,  his  history,  character,  and  government,  177-86; 
his  young  sons  visited  by  Sir  John  Cam  Hobhouse,  89;  his  sons 
MAktar  and  Veli,  183 ;  his  outlawry  and  fall,  185-6,  224,  234. 

Amelia,  Queen  of  Greece,  267. 

Antioch  taken  by  the  Persians,  20. 

Apostasy  after  the  Turkish  conquest,  113;  in  the  17th  century,  160. 

Armatoli  and  Klephts,  origin,  character,  and  comparative  freedom  of,  I5S~^' 

Armies  of  the  Roman  and  Byzantine  Empire  demoralized,  24,  59 ;  re- 
stored, 38,  57. 

Arsenius  Tzemoievitch,  last  Servian  Patriarch,  422. 

Asia  Minor  desolated  by  the  Saracens,  59;  conquered  by  the  Seljukian 
Turks,  61-2. 

Asiatic  influences  in  the  Byzantine  Empire,  32-3. 

Athens  made  the  capital  of  Greece,  267. 

Avars,  origin  of,  318;  invade  Dacia,  470;  assist  the  Persians  in  the  siege 
of  Constantinople,  26. 

Baldwin,  Count  of  Flanders,  first  Latin  Emperor  of  Constantinople,  65. 

Balsha,  George,  Knez  of  Zenta,  358. 

Barlaam  of  Calabria,  69. 

Basil  the  Macedonian,  Emperor,  55. 


5^0  ^^^•^- 

Basil  Bulgaroktonos,  58,  329-3a 

Belgrade,  description  of,  416. 

Belisarius,  conquests  of,  13. 

Belusso  the  Turk,  story  of,  428. 

Benjamin,  Rev.  Nathan,  1  .  Greece,  294. 

Berlin,  Treaty  of,  its  essential  points,  514-16;  results  to  the  ToridsL  £mi 
pire,  516-18;  to  the  Slavonians  and  the  Greeks,  518-19. 

Bib  Doda,  hereditary  Prenk  of  the  Miridites,  440. 

Bogden  Dragosch,  first  Voivode  of  Moldavia,  472. 

Bogomilians,  the  Protestants  of  the  East,  426. 

Bogoris,  first  Christian  King  of  the  Bulgarians,  324-5. 

Boris,  last  King  of  the  first  Bulgarian  Kingdom,  328. 

Bosnia,  an  independent  Kingdom,  348  j  Vilayet  of,  under  the  Turks,  424, 
430-7 ;  government  and  social  condition  of,  431-7. 

Bosnia  proper,  the  country  and  its  people,  420-5 ;  given  to  Austria  by  the 
Treaty  of  Berlin,  515. 

Bosnian  nobles,  430-7 ;  and  people,  437 ;  religion  of,  437-8. 

Botzaris  family,  180,  182;  Marco,  182;  begins  the  Greek  Revolution,  225; 
death  of,  239. 

Brankovitch,  George,  Despot  of  Servia,  347-8* 

Brigandage  in  Greece,  28c>-2. 

BrAsa,  first  Ottoman  capital,  70. 

Bulgarians,  origin  and  ethnical  character  of,  318-21 ;  ravage  and  occupy  the 
north-western  provinces  of  the  Greek  Empire,  322-3 ;  converted  to 
Christianity,  324;  prosperity  and  power,  327-31. 

Bulgaria  and  the  Bulgarians,  Modern,  account  of,  442-51  ;  Five  Provinces, 
444-5  ;  oppression  and  insurrectionary  movements,  451-3 ;  pacified  by 
Omer  Pasha,  453;  missions  and  their  results,  457-60;  language  and 
education,  459-62;  insurrection  and  massacres  in  1876,  508;  Princi- 
pality constituted  by  the  Treaty  of  San  Stefano,  512;  by  Treaty  of 
Berlin,  515. 

Bulgarian  Church,  attached  to  the  Greek  Conmiunion,  325 ;  independence 
of,  327-31 ;  subjected  to  the  Patriarch  of  Constantinople,  454;  resist- 
ance and  recovered  freedom,  454-6. 

Bulgarian  Kingdoms,  First,  Second,  and  Third,  322-32. 

Bucharest,  account  of  the  city,  491-2. 

Bushatlia,  house  of,  170,  174,  359,  n. ;  fall  of,  433. 

Byzantine  Empire,  fully  established  under  Leo  the  Isaurian,  31 ;  condition 
of  under  Leo,  31-9;  military  strength,  38-57;  moral  enslavement,  and 
reasons  therefor,  40-8 ;  wealth,  prosperity,  and  decline  under  the  Ba- 
silian  dynasty,  57-8. 


INDEX.  541 

Capo  d'Istrias,  Coint  John,  chosen  Goveraor  of  Greece,  353 ;  is  made  Pre»> 
ident  at  the  dose  of  the  Revolution,  261 ;  his  government  and  death, 
264-6. 

Capo  d'Istrias,  Augustine,  266. 

Caravan  trade  through  Bulgaria,  323,  331. 

Catholics  of  Herzegovina,  426. 

Charles  I.,  Prince  of  Roumania,  485 ;  his  character  and  government,  493-5. 

Chosroes,  King  of  Persia,  conquests  of,  1 1  j  vanquished  by  Heraclius,  26. 

Chrysolaras,  Manuel,  teaches  Greek  at  Florence,  72. 

Church,  Sir  Richard,  General-in-chief  of  the  Greeks,  253. 

Circus,  blue  and  green  factions  of,  at  Constantinople,  15. 

Cochrane,  Lord  Alexander,  Admiral  of  the  Greek  fleet,  252-3. 

Codrington,  Sir  Edward,  English  Admiral  at  Navarino,  257-61. 

Colocotroni,  one  of  the  Greek  Revolutionary  leaders,  230;  in  rebellion,  240. 

Commerce  of  the  Byzantine  Empire,  36-8.  ' 

Commercial  cities  on  the  eastern  coast  of  the  Adriatic,  337. 

Conference  of  Constantinople,  5i<>-ii. 

Congress  of  Berlin,  importance  of,  506;  assembling,  character  and  issue  o^ 

514. 
Constantine  Beg,  Hospodar  of  Wallachia,  478-9. 
Constantinople  besieged  by  Persians  and  Avars,  11;  two  sieges  of  by  the 

Saracens,  28-go ;  taken  by  the  Crusaders,  64 ;  by  the  Turks,  73 ;  good 

order  of  under  the  Turks,  117;  Conference  of,  510-11. 
Cretan  children  under  care  of  American  missionaries  at  Athens  in  1868, 

298-9. 
Cyril  and  Methodius,  the  Apostles  of  the  Slavonian  race,  and  l,oooth  anni' 

versary  of,  325-6. 

Dacia  and  the  Dacians,  account  of,  467-9. 

Daniel,  first  Secular  Prince  of  Montenegro  in  modem  times,  373, 

Darinka,  Princess  of  Montenegro,  373, 

Der6  Begs  of  the  Ottoman  Empire,  94-5. 

Drama  Ali,  his  cruelty  and  his  fate,  236-7. 

Earthquakes  in  the  time  of  Justinian,  18. 

Education  among  the  Greeks  in  the  i8th  century,  201-3;  during  the  Revo 

lution,  242 ;  under  Otho,  275 ;  at  the  present  time,  285. 
Epirots  and  Greeks,  124-5. 
Epirus,  history  and  description  of,  167-77. 
Epirus,  Despots  of,  171. 
Eugene,  Prince,  defeats  Ali  Cumurgi  at  the  battle  of  Peterwardein,  166. 


542  t^^- 

Felton,  President,  account  of  King  Otho,  369;   c/  Greek  peasa&tt  and 

school  system,  272-5. 
Fireships  of  the  Greeks,  230,  235. 
Fiscal  oppression  of  the  imperial  government,  22. 
French  ambassadors  insulted  by  the  Porte,  162. 
Frusca  Gora,  peninsula  of,  423. 

Genoese,  the,  in  Constantinople,  70. 

George  Tzemoievitch  marries  a  Venetian  wife,  surrenders  the  government 
of  Montenegro  to  the  Bishop,  and  retires  to  Venice,  359-62. 

Germanos,  Bishop  of  Patras,  inaugurates  the  Greek  Revolution,  228. 

Germany,  imification  ofi  2. 

Grahovo,  battle  of,  353-6. 

Greece,  Kingdom  of  determined  upon,  262;  present  condition,  279;  pro- 
gress in  fifty  years,  282. 

Greece,  Northern,  subdued  by  the  Turks,  154;    comparative  freedom  of 

155-6- 

Greek  Church  under  Leo  the  Isaurian,  32;  under  the  Sultans,  97-9;  com- 
pared with  the  Papal  Church,  135-8;  peculiarities  of,  142-3;  clergy 
and  constitution  of,  143-7 ;  present  condition,  289-93. 

Greek  Empire,  its  vices  and  decay,  68,  82;  tributary  to  the  Turks,  70-1. 

Greek  Islands,  miserable  condition  of  in  the  17th  century,  157-8;  Turks 
driven  from  them  by  pirates,  161 ;  great  prosperity  for  fifty  years  be- 
fore the  Rev<3!ution,  193,  205-9 ;  revolt  of,  229. 

Greek  Letters  preserved  and  transmitted  to  Italy,  69-72. 

Greek  Merchants  in  Europe,  194-6;  services  to  the  cause  of  learning,  201, 
204-5. 

Greek  Peasantry,  215-19,  272-4. 

Greek  Primates,  charaaerof,  213-15. 

Greek  Revolution  begun,  224 ;  Independence  declared  and  Provisional  Gov- 
ernment formed,  233;  faction  and  civil  war,  240;  freedom  fairly  won 
in  1824,  242-3;  Ibrahim  Pasha  in,  246-8;  fall  of  Mesolonghi,  249; 
fall  of  Athens,  253 ;  battle  of  Navarino,  255-61. 

Greek  School  system  in  1824,  242 ;  under  Otho,  275  ;  at  the  present  time, 
285. 

Greek  Soldiers  of  the  Revolution,  232. 

Greeks,  how  affected  by  the  Turkish  conquest,  6,  83;  condition  of  under 
the  early  Sultans,  96-101,  149-50. 

Greeks,  Modern,  true  character  of,  77-9,  102-10;  social  and  political  re- 
generation, 1 10-19;  municipal  institutions,  1 12-17;  great  depression  ic 
tKe  17th  century,  160;   rapid  improvement  in  the  i8th  century,  190; 


native  literatnre  developed^  202 ;  activity  of  before  the  Revolation,  207; 

diaracter  of  at  the  present  time,  283-9 ;  religious  character  and  cchv  j 

dition,  289-93 »  ^re  one  people,  will  form  one  nation  and  one  static^  1 

306;  how  affected  by  the  Treaty  of  Berlin,  519.  : 

Greeks,  Commercial,  208-15.  1 
Gregory  Palamas,  69. 

Gregory,  Patriarch  of  Constantinople,  227.  \ 

Grenzer,  the,  Servian  military  colony  on  the  Austrian  frontier,  35a  i 

Gypsies  in  Roumania,  496,  504 ;  in  the  Valley  of  the  Danube,  498,  503^;  \ 

origin  ofi  499-500 ;  chauracter  and  social  condition,  501-3.  \ 

Heraclius,  Exarch  of  Africa,  19.  | 

Heraclius,  Emperor,  19 ;  Persian  campaigns  of,  26-7.  \ 
Herzegovina,  the  country,  its  history,  and  its  people,  425-9;   insarrecdon 

in,  507;  given  to  Austria  by  the  Treaty  of  Berlin,  515.  \ 

Heteria,  the,  opens  the  Greek  Revolution,  222-3.  \ 

Heyducs,  Bulgarian,  452.  i 

Hill,  Dr.  and  Mrs.,  girls*  school  of,  at  Athens,  299  \ 
Hobhouse,  Sir  John  Cam,  at  Yannina  and  Negropont,  89-91 ;  at  O0B» 

stantinople,  93. 

Holy  Alliance,  the,  frowns  on  the  Greek  cause,  243.  • 

Hope,  the,  Greek  frigate,  252 ;  burned  by  Miaulis,  264-5.  \ 

Huns  invade  Dacia  and  settie  Hungary,  470.  j 

Hydra,  prosperity  of,  209,  225.  j 

i 
1 

Ibrahim  Pasha  subdues  Syria  and  Asia  Minor,  246;  sails  for  Greece  and  It  \ 
defeated  by  Miaulis,  247 ;  in  the  Morea,  248-51 ;  end  of  his  career  te 
Greece,  255,  257-61. 

Iconoclasm  at  Constantinople,  33-4.  \ 

niyrians,  ancient,  168-9.                                                      '  1 

Ipsara,  prosperity  of,  208-9  5  destroyed  by  the  Turks,  241. 

Ismail  Beg  of  Serres,  94.  '  \ 

Italian  Republics,  71-2.  j 

Ivan  Tzemoievitch,  founder  of  Montenegro,  359. 

Janizaries,  the,  123 ;  a  settied  trading  militia,  159,  i6i ;  rebdlioii  <<  Tfijr^l 

expelled  from  Servia,  386. 
Jews  in  Roumania  and  Servia,  496-7. 

Jurisprudence  of  the  Byzantine  Empire,  1^3$.  i 
Joaiinian,  laign  aad«ka»Mtar  o^  U,  i& 


24 


544  rNDEX, 

Kalergi,  General,  compels  Otho  to  grant  a  oonstitntion)  268b 

Kanaris,  Constantine,  bums  Turkish  flag-ship,  235,  238;  at  Samos^  147; 

in  1862,  276. 
Kara  George  of  Servia,  387-95 ;  his  death,  41a 
Kara  Mustapha,  defeated  by  John  Sobieski,  161. 
Kara  Osman  Oglu,  Bey  of  Magnesia,  95. 
Karpenisi,  battle  of,  239. 
Khans  on  routes  of  travel,  93. 
King,  Dr.  Jonas,  in  Greece,  277-8,  294-9. 
Kiutahi  Pasha,  Roumeli  Valesi,  besieges  Mesolonghi,  249. 
Klephts,  the,  origin  of,    155;  of  Albania,   177;    before  the  Revolutioili 

219-22. 
Koraes,  Adamantios,  the  father  of  Modem  Greek,  204. 
Kossovo,  battle  of,  346. 

Kdissa,  battle  of,  secures  Montenegrin  independence,  365. 
Kdrschid  Pasha,  first  Turkish  commander  in  Greek  Revolution,  229-3& 
Kiirschid  Pasha  subdues  Servia,  394-5. 

Lascaris,  Theodore,  Emperor  of  Nicaea,  66. 

Latin  Empire  of  Constantinople,  65-7. 

Lazar,  last  Servian  Tzar,  falls  at  Kossovo,  346 ;  his  body  still  preserved  and 

reverenced,  423. 
Learning  and  letters  in  the  Byzantine  Empire,  33»  57, 127 ;  after  the  Turkish 

conquest,  129. 
Leo  the  Isaurian,  Emperor,  29 ;  his  government,  34-8. 
Leo  Pilatus,  first  teacher  of  Greek  in  Italy,  72. 
Leopold  chosen  King  of  Greece,  263. 
Lesbos,  conquest  of  by  Mohammed  II.,  15. 
Loans,  Greek,  in  London,  252. 
Long,  Dr.  A.  L.,  in  Bulgaria,  458-60. 

Macarius,  Patriarch  of  Antioch,  and  Paul  of  Aleppo,  in  Constantinojde  and 
Moscow,  99-100,  131-5 ;  in  Moldavia  and  Wallachia,  474-82. 

Magyars  invade  and  occupy  Hungary,  470. 

Massacres,  at  the  opening  of  the  Greek  Revolution,  226-7 ;  at  Scio,  231 ; 
at  Sm)rraa  and  Aivali,  231. 

Matthi  Beg,  Hospodar  of  Wallachia,  478. 

Mavrocordato,  Alexander,  Second  Phanariot  Dragoman  of  the  Council, 
198-9. 

Ifovrocordato,  Akiandttr,  PMsid—it  of  Greek  Pfovisional  Government,  231, 


INDEX,  545 

Mavromichalis,  Petro,  Bey  of  Maina,  265. 

Mehemet  Ali,  Viceroy  of  Egypt,  origin  of,  122;  his  history  and  gevermnen^ 

244-5 ''  called  in  to  subdue  the  Greeks,  246. 

Mesolonghi,  first  siege  of,  238;  taken  by  Ibrahim  Pasha,  249-51. 

Methodius,  monkish  painter  at  the  Court  of  King  Bogoris,  324-5. 

Methodius  and  Cyril,  Apostles  of  the  Slavonic  Race,  325-6. 

Miaulis,  Greek  Admiral,  24 ;  avenges  Ipsara,  242 ;  defeats  combined  Turkish 
and  Egyptian  fleets,  247 ;  bums  thirty  vessels  in  the  harbor  of  Modon, 
248 ;  relieves  Mesolonghi,  249 ;  burns  the  Greek  fleet,  264-5. 

Michael  Obrenovitch,  twice  Prince  of  Servia,  his  government  and  assassina 
tion,  412-15. 

Milan  Obrenovitch  (I.),  accession  and  death,  412. 

Milan  Obrenovitch  (II.),  accession  and  government,  415-16. 

Military  system  of  the  Roman  Empire,  24 ;  declines,  is  restored  by  Con- 
stantine,  24  ;  breaks  down  under  Justinian,  25  ;  again  restored  by  the 
Byzantine  Emperors,  38,  57. 

Milosch  Obrenovitch,  delivers  Servia,  twice  Prince,  395-6,  410-14. 

Miridites,  the,  440. 

Mirko,  the  hero  of  Grahovo,  373-5. 

Missions  in  Greece  and  residts,  293-9, 

Misery  of  the  Greeks  in  1827,  253-4. 

Moawiah,  Caliph,  besieges  Constantinople,  28. 

Moldavia,  founded  by  Bogden  Dragosch,  472 ;  subdued  by  Sultan  Bajaze^ 
472  ;  charter  of  Solyman  I.,  473 ;  social  condition,  474-5 ;  Phanariot  Hos« 
podars,  482-4 ;  union  with  Wallachia,  485 ;  Greek  Revolution  begun  in, 
226. 

Monasteries,  Greek,  141-3 ;  Servian,  407-9. 

Monasticism  in  the  East  and  in  the  West,  136. 

Montenegrins,  character  and  social  condition  of,  366-8,  375-7. 

Montenegro,  position  and  history  of,  353,  358-9 ;  alliance  with  Russia, 
363-4 ;  massacre  of  Moslems,  363 ;  independence  of  virtually  secured 
by  battle  of  Krussa,  365;  government,  371;  independent,  514;  en- 
larged by  Congress  of  Berlin,  515. 

Morea,  the,  wasted  by  wars  between  the  Turks  and  Venetians,  152-3; 
calamities  of  in  the  17th  century,  159-60;  conquered  by  the  Venetians 
in  1684-7;  prosperity  under  Venetian  rule,  and  reconquest  by  the 
Turks,  163-6. 

Morlaks,  the,  439. 

Moslem  Bulgarians,  442-3 ;  steady  diminution  of,  460-1. 

Municipal  institutions  of  th*  Roman  Empire,  decline  of  under  Jastinittit 
17    of  tha  Greeks  under  the  Sultans,  1 12-1 7. 


546  INDEX. 

Mustapha  Pasha  of  Scutari,  170;   defeated  by  Marco  Botzaris,  239;  f  ' 

of;  433-  \ 

Mustapha  Pasha  of  Belgrade  calls  the  Servians  to  arms,  385.  j 

Narenta  River,  the,  and  the  Narentines,  425.  \ 

Narses  conquers  Italy,  and  is  made  first  Exarch  of  Ravenna,  14.  | 

Navarino,  battle  of,  255,  257-61.  | 

Nicaea,  capital  of  the  Kingdom  of  Roum,  62 ;  of  the  Empire  of  Theodoi 

Lascaris,  66. 
Nicholas,  Pope,  letter  of  to  King  Bogoris,  325. 

Nicholas  of  Russia  befriends  the  Greeks,  256.  \ 

Nicolas  or  Nikita,  Prince  of  Montenegro,  373-5.  \ 

Nico  Tsaras,  the  model  Klepht,  221.  ] 

Northern  Greece  subdued  by  the  Turks,  154;  amparative  freedom  of 

Armatoli  and  Klephts,  155-6. 

Olga,  Queen  of  Greece,  277.  j 

Omer  Pasha,  origin  of,  357;  subdues  Montenegro^  357;  subdues  Bosnia,  \ 

435-6 ;  pacifies  Bulgaria,  453. 
Omer  Vriones,  238. 
Otho  of  Bavaria,  King  of  Greece,  267;  grants  a  constitution,  268;  Ut  1 

character  and  government,  269;  abdication,  276. 
Ottoman  Empire,  condition  of  under  the  early  Sultans,  91-3,  148-9,  I 

Panayotaki,  first  Phanariot  Dragoman  of  the  Council,  196-7,  482.  j 

Patriarchs  of  the  Eastern  Church,  143 ;  of  the  Bulgarian  Church,  327,  yi% 

331 ;  (Servian)  of  Ipek,  349-50«  > 

Pasvan  Oglu  of  Widdin,  383-5,  452.  \ 

Paul  of  Aleppo,  feelings  of  towards  the  Turkish  Government,  99,  100  {  1 

his  religion,  131-5  ;  in  Moldavia  and  Wallachia,  474-82.  "\ 

Paulicians,  their  history  and  fate,  49-53 ;  in  Bosnia,  425-6.  I 

**  Perseverance,"  the,  Greek  steam  corvette,  252.  * 

Persians  conquer  Syria  and  Asia  Minor,  1 1 ;  subdued  by  Heraclius,  26.  \ 

Pestilence  in  the  reign  of  Justinian,  18,  \ 

Peter  I.  (Saint)  of  Montenegro,  wins  the  battle  of  Kriissa,  365 ; 

and  services  of,  370-1. 
Peter  II.,  account  of,  369-70. 

Phanariots,  rise,  power  and  character  of,  196-201,  482-4. 
Philadelphia  surrenders  to  the  Turks,  71. 
Phocas,  Emperor,  elevation  and  tyranny  of,  18;  £dl,  19^ 
Plevna,  long  struggle  for  the  possession  <^  511-13. 
Piracy  in  the  17th  century,  158-9. 


mDEX,  547 

l^omaks,  Moslem  Bulgarians,  442-3. 

Population  of  the  Kingdom  of  Greece,  282,  n.  \ 

Porte,  Sublime,  contemptuous  trreatment  of  Christian  ambassadors  hf  fa  1 

the  17th  century,  161-3.  \ 

Preachers  at  Athens,  292.  \ 

Preslav  (Marcionopclis;,  capital  of  the  First  Bulgarian  Kingdom,  3^3  J 

Prizren,  the  Servian  Tzarigrad,  338^  5 

Pyrrhus,  King  of  Epirus,  168.  \ 

\ 
Qnictists  of  Mount  Athos,  68. 

Queen  Amelia  of  Greece,  267.  \ 
Queen  Olga  of  Greece,  277. 

Rascia,  the  Servian  Province  of^  319,  n. 

Regency,  the  Bavarian,  in  Greece,  267. 

Religion,  state  of  among  the  Greeks  after  the  Tmrldsh  conquest,  129-35*  \ 

Rhiga,  popular  Greek  poet  and  founder  of  the  Heteria,  204,  222.  \ 

Riggs,  Dr.  Elias,  in  Greece,  294.  i 

Roads,  great  want  of  in  Greece,  304. 

Romaic  or  Modem  Greek  language,  78-9^ 

Roman  Empire,  the,  extent  of  in  the  time  of  Justinian,  12;  prostrate,  II,  \ 

20 ;  causes  of  its  decline  and  fall,  20-5.  J 

Romanus  Diogenes,  Emperor,  defieated  and  taken  prisoner  by  Alp  Arslai^ 

62. 
Roumania,  constituted  a  Principality,  485;  the  country  and  its  people 

486-92 ;  progress  and  improvement  under  Prince  Charles,  493-7 ;  io»  i 

dependent,  495,  514 ;  new  boundaries,  515  I 

Roumelia,  Eastern,  444,  n.,  515-16.  ] 

Rudolph  the  Black,  first  Voivode  of  Wallachia,  472.  \ 

Russia,  present  and  future  ofi  3. 
Russians,  the,  in  the  17th  century,  132-4;  invade  and  conquer  6iilgaria»  ^ 

328.  \ 

Russo-Torkish  war  of  1877,  511-12^  \ 

\ 
Sabor  of  Skopia,  342.  \ 

Sacturis,  Greek  Vice-Admural,  saves  Samos,  247 ;  defeats  the  Turkish  flee^  - 

248.  j 

St.  John,  Knights  of;  at  Malta,  pirates  in  Turkish  craters,  159^  and  n. 

St.  Sava,  founder  of  the  Servian  Church,  339. 

Samos,  saved  by  Sacturis,  247. 

Sandiak  Begs,  122.  \ 

as  1 


548  INDEX. 

Samttely  founder  of  the  Second  Bulgarian  Kingdom,  33S-3& 

Samuel,  the  Suliot  Caloyer,  182. 

San  Stefano,  Treaty  of,  512. 

Saracens,  conquests  of,  27;  first  siege  of  Constantinople  by,  28 ;  seoond  dl^ 

30- 

Scanderbeg,  history  and  exploits  of,  1 72-4. 

Scio,  happy  condition  of,  193,  208 ;  massacre  at,  234-5. 

Serfs,  freemen  reduced  to,  in  Roman  Empire,  23. 

Servians,  the,  migrate  and  settle  in  their  present  seats,  319,  334 ;  offioen 
and  organization  of,  319-20,  335 ;  form  a  Principality  in  Austria,  348. 

Servians,  Modern,  described,  400-8. 

Servia,  Despots  of,  347 ;  conquered  by  the  Turks,  348 ;  boundaries,  popu- 
lation, and  condition  under  the  Turks,  379-81 ;  events  leading  to  Ser- 
vian  independence,  382-7 ;  freedom  won,  387-9 ;  subdued  by  Kurschid 
'  Pasha,  394-5  ;  again  free,  395-6;  th«  country  and  the  people,  397-408 ; 
evacuated  by  the  Turks,  415 ;  constitution,  population,  and  general 
condition,  417-20;  independence  acknowledged  and  boundaries  en- 
larged by  Treaty  of  Berlin,  514-15. 

Servian  Empire,  rise  of,  338 ;  culminates  under  Stephen  Dushan,  341 ;  fiUlt 
at  Kossovo,  346. 

Servian  Church,  340,  347-50,  407-9;  at  the  present  time,  418-19. 

Servian  Commune  or  House-communion,  336-7,  402. 

Servian  Laws,  342-3. 

Servian  Poetry,  403-5. 

Servian  War  of  1876,  509. 

Shishman,  John,  last  Bulgarian  King,  332. 

Simeon,  King  of  Bulgaria,  327. 

Slaves  in  the  time  of  Justinian,  23 ;  captives  enslaved,  151-2;  fewer  slaves 
in  Turkey  in  the  1 7th  century,  190. 

Slavic  race,  origin,  character,  numbers,  and  divisions  of,  309-15 ;  poetry  o^ 
313-14;  in  the  Roman  Empire,  315-18. 

Slavonic  alphabet  of  Cyril  and  Methodius,  326. 

Slavonic  languages,  ancient  and  modem,  326. 

Sobieski,  John,  King  of  Poland,  defeats  the  Turks  before  Vienna,  l6l. 

Spahis,  123. 

Stara  Servia,  history  and  present  condition  of,  421-4. 

Stephen  Dushan,  Tzar  of  the  Servians,  340;  crowned  EmpeitMr  of  tin 
Romans,  342;  death  of,  345-6. 

Stephen  Lazarevitch,  last  King  of  the  Servians,  347. 

Stephen  N^manja,  founder  of  the  Servkn  Empire,  53& 

Stq>hen  Radoslav,  first  Tzar  of  Servia,  339. 


tNDBX.  549 

Stephen  Tehonul,  second  Servian  Tzar,  338. 

Stinga,  battle  of^  226.  \ 

Suliots,  account  of^  179 ;  conquered  by  Ali  Pasha,  181 ;  restored  and  begiD  \ 

Greek  Revolution,  225 ;  final  surrender,  236. 
Szeklers,  descent  of^  47a 

Tahir  Pasha  pacifies  Bosnia,  434.  \ 

Tartars  in  Russia  and  Roumania,  471,  476r8l.  k 

Taxes  in  Greece  under  the  Turks,  215,  \ 

Tehomil,  Stephen,  second  Servian  Tzar,  338.  \ 

Tenure  of  land  in  Greece  under  the  Turks,  215.  \ 

Ternovo,  capital  of  the  Third  Bulgarian  Kingdom,  331,  \ 

Theodore  Lascaries,  Emperor  of  Nicsea,  66.  j 

Thessalonica,  Empire  of,  65-7.  | 

Timars  and  Ziamets,  122.  i 

Timotheus  the  Cossack,  476-7. 
Tinos,  happy  condition  of,  194. 
Tombazi,  Greek  Admiral,  23a 
Trade  of  the  Greeks  in  the  17th  century,  194?^  j  sndden  exponskm  of  after 

1780,205-6.  J 

Transylvania,  population  ofi  463.  \ 

Travnik,  residence  of  the  Pashas  of  Bosnia.  \ 

Treaty  of  July,  1827,  for  the  relief  of  the  Greeks,  256. 
Tribute  children,  85  ;  cease  to  be  exacted,  161. 
Tripolitza,  capital  of  the  Morea,  228 ;  taken  by  the  Greeks,  233. 
Turkey  in  Europe,  population  of,  121 ;  ethnical  divisions  of,  123-6. 
Turks  and  the  Turkish  administration,  character  of,  84-90.  \ 

Turks,  number  of  in  Europe,  121;  decline  of  in  the  17th  century,  193} 

weakness  and  poverty  of  at  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  a07*  \ 

Tzintzars,  Wallachian  shepherds,  464.  \ 

I 
Urosh,  son  of  Stephen  Dushan,  344.  • 

Uscocs,  the,  439.  \ 

\ 
Varna,  first  Bulgarian  capital,  323,  \ 

Vasili  Beg,  Hospodar  of  Moldavia,  474-6.  j 

Venetian  conquest  of  the  Morea,  163-4;  effects  o^  189^ 

Venetians  in  Dalmatia,  427-8. 

Vladikas,  the  Prince-bishops  of  Montenegro,  359^  369-9a  1 

Vokashine,  Krai  of  Zenta,  344. 


550  tNDBX,  \ 

Wallachians,  early  history  of,  462-72 ;  in  Thessaly,  125, 463;  in  the  Third  j 

Bulgarian  Kingdom,  331,  462-3 ;  social  condition  of  at  the  accession  of  \ 

Prince  Charles,  489-92 ;   advancement,  493 ;  patriotism  and  military 
spirit,  494-5-  \ 

Wallachia,  occupied  by  Rudolph  the  Black,  473;  government  and  soda! 
condition  of,  473-4 ;  character  of  the  people,  479 ;  election  of  Hospo- 
dar,  478-9 ;  terror  of  Tartar  invasions,  480-1 ;  Phanariot  Hospodan, 
199,  482-4 ;  union  with  Moldavia,  486. 
Wallachia,  Great,  462-4.  \ 

William  George  of  Denmark,  King  of  Greece,  277-8. '  \ 

Ypselanti,  Alexander,  Chief  of  the  Heteria,  226. 

Ypselanti,  Demetrius,  Commander  of  the  Greek  forces,  231.  \ 

Zenta,  or  Zeta,  the  cradle  of  the  Servian  Empu-e,  328. 

Ziamets  and  Timars,  122. 

Zimisces,  John,  Emperor  of  Constantinople,  oooqners  First  Bnlgarias;  Kiag- 


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